"The Advisory Role of Agricultural production supplies Traders in the Safe Use of Chemical Pesticides for Vegetable Crops in Al Sharqia Governorate"

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

This research aimed to determine the level of agricultural input traders' role in raising awareness, training, and following up on vegetable farmers' implementation of recommendations for the safe use of chemical pesticides in Al Sharqia Governorate. It also sought to identify the advisory methods used by input traders to guide farmers, as well as the problems facing farmers regarding the safe use of pesticides and their suggestions to solve them.
The research was conducted in Al Sharqia Governorate and data were collected from a sample of 120 farmers from Al Salhiya, Al Adliya and Al Salam villages in Belbeis Center and Al Azwa Al Izah villages in Faqus Center using a personal interview questionnaire during September and October 2021 and analyzed using numerical tabulation, percentages, and Pearson's simple correlation coefficient.
**The main findings were:**
- Nearly three-fifths of respondents (59.5%) indicated that traders play a medium-level role in raising their awareness on the safe use recommendations of chemical pesticides.
- Over half of respondents (54.1%) felt that traders provide medium-level training on implementing safe pesticide use recommendations.
- More than two-thirds of respondents (67.2%) reported a low level of follow-up by traders on their implementation of safe pesticide use recommendations.
- Farm visits, library publications, and phone calls were the most common advisory methods used by traders to guide farmers.

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