Community Participation in Development of Models for Reducing Pesticide Contact of Agriculturist Group : Case Study of Tobacco Grower Group of Nayor Village, Nangam Sub-District, RaenuNakhon District, NakhonPhanom Province

Abstract

Background and Objective : The volume of pesticide using in the tobacco agriculturists  are increasing and the impact from using pesticides are so much on the health of farmers, the environment, economic and society. The purpose of this research was to develop the  models for reducing pesticide contact of agriculturists group growing tobacco at  Nayor village tobacco growers group, Nangam sub-district, RaenuNakhon district, NakhonPhanom  province..
Methods: This participation action research used the sample group collected by Purposive Sampling. There are 4 steps of procedure; 1) Community situation study, 2) Brainstorming and thought reflection, 3)Implementation of the models and 4)Performance evaluation. Data collection tools consisted of In-depth interview questions, Group discussion questions, Participatory and non-participatory observation items, Brainstorming and reflective thinking and Knowledge and behavior questionnaire of using chemical pesticide. Data was analyzed by content analysis and frequency percentage.
Results: Most of the agriculturists were women, every one used pesticides 3-4 times a year, they were commitment with private tobacco  company and, most of them are knowledgeable about chemicals  at the high level. Behavior about using pesticides in before used, currently used and after used were at the high level. The model  had 4 steps guideline to reducing pesticides contact of tobacco planting which were; 1) Seedling. 2) Tobacco care 3) Tobacco leaf harvesting and 4) Tobacco leaf packing. The results after implementation, it was found that most of the agriculturists followed the guidelines .However, The process is still tricky to implement and unsure of the effectiveness of the new guideline.
Conclusion: agriculturists are perceive of the impact from pesticide exposure   and importance  to  avoid pesticides exposure. but are not confident about the effectiveness of this  guideline .