The impact of different education strategies on rice farmers’ knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) about pesticide use

Abstract Establishing appropriate education strategies about safe use of pesticide is not only essential to reduce adverse health effects associated with pesticide exposure but also for supporting the ongoing efforts to promote production of healthy agricultural products. This study describes a survey conducted before and after an education intervention program aimed at promoting rice farmers’ knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) about pesticide use in Sari County, Mazandaran province, Iran. We randomly assigned the 180 rice farmers that agreed to participate to three different educational strategies named: Formal Group Interaction (FGI: eight sessions per week in local agricultural office with teaching methods include lectures, question-and-answer periods, slideshows about three constructs of the KAP questionnaire), Personal Field Interaction (PFI; weekly field visits by local extension agents and providing face to face recommendation) and Group Media Approach (GMA: providing related information through a mix of media include pamphlet, mobile texting and web-based social media). Scores from the preintervention and postintervention for each individual question of KAP was compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. While farmers had limited knowledge and practice on safe use of pesticide before the intervention, their knowledge and practice scores improved after the interventions slightly and in particular the two interventions of PFI and FGI had a significant effect on the increase in farmers’ knowledge and practice. Moreover, all three strategies had a positive impact on attitude, but the FGI made considerable improvement. Basically, as a result of this type of educational intervention, the highest percentage of positive change has been made in knowledge and the least in practice. The advantages and limitations of distinct educational strategies show that there is no superior and perfect method for shaping and strengthening all aspects of farmers' KAP, and instead, combining different methods in an integrated strategy is essential.