Perception of the use and exposure to pesticides among farmers in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul state - Brazil

The majority of farmers in Brazil have a low level of education, which makes it difficult for them to read and understand pesticide labels and can result in poisoning during field applications. The aim of this study was to verify the perception of farmers and rural workers in the district of Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil, concerning the use of and exposure to pesticides, as well as the damage caused to their health and the environment. Thirty-one farmers who make use of pesticides on their property were interviewed, together with the people that apply the pesticides. The profile of those interviewed showed that the majority were male (87.5%), with a professional occupation characterised as rural worker (29.2%) and a high school education (29.15%). When reading the labels and pictograms, none of the respondents correctly defined the figures on the labels or knew their meaning, the conclusion being that comprehension is still a problem. The perception of the farmers concerning the use of and exposure to pesticides was considered low despite claiming to know the risks that exposure entails. However, their partial use of PPE and their difficulty in understanding the product labels would contradict this claim. In addition, a proportion of those interviewed had already experienced some symptoms of poisoning.