The Development a Behavioral Model to Reduce Pesticide Exposure through Community Participation in Onion Farmers at Dongkhang Sub-district, Muang District, Nakhon Phanom Province.

Abstract

This study was action research to develop and study the effects of using a behavioral model to reduce pesticide exposure through community participation in onion farmers at Dongkhang Sub-district, Muang District, Nakhon Phanom province. A survey was conducted on the problems of pesticide use in a sample group of 90 people whose blood test results showed cholinesterase levels to be at risk and unsafe in 2023.The tools used for data collection consisted of questionnaires and focus group discussions. Community participation activities included analyzing the cause of the problem, planning to solve the problem, implementing the solution, monitoring and evaluating the results by providing training, demonstrating and practicing how to use safety equipment, campaigning to reduce the use of chemical pesticides, providing knowledge via public address systems, and setting up organic farming demonstration plots. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics to compare the differences in the average scores of knowledges and behavior of farmers who grew onions before and after the operation.According to the paired t-test statistics

The results of the study found that farmers had a higher average score of knowledge about pesticides than before the operation by 2.27 points (95% CI: 15.83–16.40) (p-value
< 0.001). The practice of using pesticides was 0.10 points higher than before the operation
(95% CI 2.10–2.15) (p-value < 0.001).

The developed community-based model to reduce pesticide exposure behaviors involved three key components: (1) a clearly defined structure with shared awareness among community members; (2) an actionable plan and collaborative efforts between farmers and community leaders with clearly assigned responsibilities; and (3) effective problem-solving measures to comprehensively reduce pesticide exposure behaviors.