Abstract:
Back ground: Pesticide use in most developing countries causing serious damages to the ecosystem and human health. Aim of the study: to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of farmers towards hazards of mis use of pesticides.Subject and Method: A descriptive research design was used. The study was conducted at El-Hammam Village, Abnoub District. A systematic random sample technique was used for selecting the study homes. Data collection took about 4 months. Two tools were used in this study; the first was an interview questionnaire sheet. The second tool was a Likert-type rating scale that was used to assess farmers' attitude towards pesticides. Results: It was found that 31.5 % of the study participants were aged (40- >50 years), and the majority of the studied participants (90.2%) were married. In addition, 45.5 % of the study participants were illiterate. Conclusion: More than half of the studied farmers had poor knowledge about pesticides use. The prevalence rate of poisoning cases represent less than fifth. While the most fatalities of cases were found among human. Recommendations: The programs of health education campaigns should be organized and directed for farmers to increase their awareness of pesticides usage, storage, hazards and safety use.
Key words: Farmers, Awareness, Pesticides, Health hazards, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices.