These policies encourage many farmers to purchase and use pesticides on their farms with little or no knowledge of the safe use and management of pesticides.The same situation was also found in Buea, where small-scale tomato farmers identify a high dependency on different formulations and combinations of pesticides as the major means to control pest and plant diseases on their farms.Some farmers still practice the traditional methods of applying a mix of wood ash, animal droppings, and water to their crops, removing weeds with hands, cutlasses and hoes, and harvesting what is left after pests and diseases infestation at the end of each planting season. These traditional farming practices are not common inBuea.Insects have been identified as a major hindrance to tomato production in this area . Buea farmers are very aware of the damages caused by pests to tomato production which has led to almost all small-scale farmers to use pesticides as the major means to control pests and plant diseases. Unfortunately, no Buea farmer was able to identify receiving any formal training on the suitable choices of pesticides and their proper application.
This leads to concerns that many farmers use the chemicals incorrectly and unsafely which are supported by this study.Pesticides are expensive, especially for small-scale farmers. The use of pesticides has been encouraged by pesticide vendors who divide pesticides into small sachets and containers which are sold to the farmers without labeling . This practice is worrisome for correct and safe use of pesticides is extremely important and the directions on the label are essential to providing information addressing safe and effective pesticide use. Many countries mandate that pesticides are labeled with required instructions and warnings.In the analytic rating game, the farmers identified 28 pesticides being used with insecticides being most used and herbicides least used.This lower herbicide use may be the result of farmers able to manually weed their farms with their family members or friends using hands,4×8 flood tray cutlasses and hoes on the smaller farms.Most Buea farmers (83.8%) anticipate pest infestations and began spraying the plants from the nursery to few weeks after transplanting. This practice shows that the farmers target any organisms that may pose as threat to the tomatoes. The problem is that natural organisms are killed which benefit the ecosystem, including earthworms which render the soil airy and ease water and other minerals absorption in the crops.A concerning finding was that almost 95.0% of Buea farmers used indiscriminate chemical combinations with repeated application of pesticides in hope of acquiring rapid and improved results.
Yet, some of these combinations have been shown to facilitate the development of pest resistance to the chemicals , as well as building toxic residues in plants, vegetables and fruits which could also pose a health threat to consumers. In Ghana,these practices have been found to have left insecticide residue in vegetables .A knapsack sprayer (83.8%) was the main pesticide application equipment used by the famers. But, only39.8% of farmers were able to afford a knapsack. The other farmers must depend on either renting or borrowing this equipment from friends. Those farmers having no access to sprayers (16.1%) use hand sprinkling by improvising methods of attaching brushes, mesh, leaves of plants on a wooden short stick to sprinkle their pesticides after mixing in an open container (bucket or bowl).It is important to keep knapsack sprayers in good condition and operating properly. Sprayers have been known to spill or leak, especially when overused on rotational bases. An association has been shown between knapsack leakages and human health effects . Toxic residues on the skin and clothes can cause acute pesticide poisoning.