Smallholder farmers in Northern Tanzania grow vegetables that include tomatoes, cabbages and onions and use many types of pesticides to control pests and diseases that attack these crops. Based on the use of questionnaires and interviews that were conducted in Arumeru, Monduli, Karatu and Moshi rural districts, this study investigates farmers’ practices, perceptions and related cost and health effects on vegetable pest management using pesticides. The types of pesticides used by the farmers in the study areas were insecticides (59%), fungicides (29%) and herbicides (10%) with the remaining 2% being rodenticides. Pesticides were bought from pesticides shops (60%), general shops (30%) and cooperative shops (10%). The pesticides were supplied in containers ranging from 0.5 to 5 l or in packets ranging from 0.5 to 25 kg. Vendors often dispensed smaller quantities of pesticides in unlabelled containers. About a third of the farmers applied pesticides in mixtures. Up to 90% of this third had a maximum of 3 pesticides in a mixture. In all cases, there were no specific instructions either from the labels or extension workers regarding these tank mixtures. More than 50% of the respondents applied pesticides up to 5 times or more per cropping season depending on the crop. Insecticides and fungicides were routinely applied by 77% and 7%, respectively. Fifty-three percent of the farmers reported that the trend of pesticide use was increasing, while 33% was constant and 14% was decreasing. Sixty-eight percent of farmers reported having felt sick after routine application of pesticides. Pesticide-related health symptoms that were associated with pesticides use included skin problems and neurological system disturbances (dizziness, headache). Thirty-nine percent of farmers reported spending between 20 and 130,200 Tanzanian shillings (0.018–116 US dollars) in a year on health due to pesticides. These results will contribute to the reformation of pesticide policies for safe and effective use of pesticides by smallholder farmers in Tanzania. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

中文翻译：

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坦桑尼亚北部的小农蔬菜农：农药使用实践、观念、成本和健康影响

坦桑尼亚北部的小农种植西红柿、卷心菜和洋葱等蔬菜，并使用多种杀虫剂来控制侵袭这些作物的病虫害。基于在 Arumeru、Monduli、Karatu 和 Moshi 农村地区进行的问卷调查和访谈，本研究调查了农民对使用杀虫剂进行蔬菜病虫害管理的做法、看法以及相关成本和健康影响。研究区农民使用的农药种类为杀虫剂（59%）、杀菌剂（29%）和除草剂（10%），其余2%为杀鼠剂。农药是从农药商店（60%）、综合商店（30%）和合作商店（10%）购买的。农药以 0.5 至 5 升的容器或 0.5 至 25 公斤的小包形式供应。供应商通常会在未贴标签的容器中分配少量农药。大约三分之一的农民使用混合农药。这三分之一的多达 90% 的混合物中最多含有 3 种农药。在所有情况下，标签或推广人员都没有关于这些储罐混合物的具体说明。超过 50% 的受访者视作物而定，每个作物季节施用农药多达 5 次或更多。杀虫剂和杀菌剂的常规施用率分别为 77% 和 7%。53% 的农民表示农药使用趋势在增加，33% 的农民保持不变，14% 的农民在减少。68% 的农民报告说在常规使用杀虫剂后感到不适。与农药使用相关的农药相关健康症状包括皮肤问题和神经系统紊乱（头晕、头痛）。39% 的农民报告说，由于杀虫剂，每年在健康方面的支出在 20 至 130,200 坦桑尼亚先令（0.018 至 116 美元）之间。这些结果将有助于改革农药政策，使坦桑尼亚小农安全有效地使用农药。r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. 保留所有权利。这些结果将有助于改革农药政策，使坦桑尼亚小农安全有效地使用农药。r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. 保留所有权利。这些结果将有助于改革农药政策，使坦桑尼亚小农安全有效地使用农药。r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. 保留所有权利。