This study established that cacao farmers of southwestern
Nigeria recognize cacao mirids as major insect pest and
thus have been using insecticides for their control. The insecticides
used include endosulfan, lindane, diazinon, and
propoxur, which are all WHO Category II insecticides (ie,
extremely hazardous).15 The study also revealed that the
farmers had been involved in the seasonal use of these insecticides
for variable periods from 5 to over 20 years, with more
than half engaged in spraying insecticides for mirid control
for 20 years or more. Thus, the farmers would have been occupationally
exposed to these insecticides as a result of being
regularly in contact with the chemicals, especially during the
yearly applications. A similar observation has been made
about a large proportion of rural Salvadoran farmers who
were reportedly exposed to pesticides through occupational
and environmental conditions mostly during the planting seasons.16
Spray men in Ethiopia have also been reportedly vulnerable
to a high risk of pesticide poisoning because of their
frequent contact with the most concentrated insecticide formulations
during mixing, loading, flagging and application
practices.