Agrochemical Use: Factors Predisposing Maize-based Farmers to Health Impairment and the Cost of Health Valuation in Ogun State, Nigeria

AbstractThe use of agrochemicals promotes productivity and efficiency of farm work and it may become hazardous for the user if handled improperly. Hence, this study looked into the factors that triggered health impairment among maize-based farmers using agrochemical in Ogun state, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used in selecting 200 respondents for the study. Analytical tools employed in the study include descriptive statistics, multivariate probit and economic cost of illness models. The results revealed that most health impairment suffered by agrochemical user include headache, breathing difficulty, skin rashes and dizziness, among others. Insecticide, as the likely cause of headache and breathing difficulties on respondents, was significant atp ≤ 0.01 while the probability of agrochemical application method, improper use of protective wears and non-reading of instructional label was also significant to cause health impairments at values ofp ≤ 0.01,p ≤ 0.01 andp ≤ 0.05, respectively. Consequently, the economic cost of illness (COI) result reflected that maize-based farmers who used agrochemicals incurred more cost on treatment ( 51,012.31k) than the non-agrochemical users ( 21,908.13k). Insecticides tend to make the respondents more sick than other agrochemicals as it recorded a peak mean value of economic cost in the study area. The study recommends among others, prompt health talks, proper use of protective wears and investment in organic farming.