Pesticide use practices and occupational pesticide exposure among cotton farmers in Northern Cameroon: A One Health-informed analysis

Abstract

Pesticide use is widespread in cotton-based farming, while occupational exposure among farmers involves multiple pesticide-use, storage, and protective practices that are often assessed separately. This study aimed to characterize pesticide use. exposure patterns among cotton farmers in northern Cameroon and examine factors associated with protective and storage practices with a One Health-informed framework. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from August to December 2024 among 245 cotton farmers in Gaschiga, Guider, and Touboro using purposive sampling and structured face-to-face questionnaires. The results showed that cotton farming is dominated by men (93.1%), who are 44 years old. Pesticide use was reported by 97.6% of farmers, and 63.3% of them use multiple pesticide categories. The risky storage was reported by 83.3% of respondents, and 28.6% use PPE. Farm size was significantly (p < 0.001) higher, and the percentage of farmers using PPE was reduced (p < 0.001) in Touboro compared to Gaschiga and Guider. PCA summarized 66.1% of total variance on the first two components. (PC1 = 44.6%; PC2 = 21.5%), and hierarchical clustering of PCA scores identified three pesticide-use and management profiles. Firth penalized logistic regression. showed significant associations between locality and both multiple PPE uses and risky pesticide storage. Furthermore, substantial heterogeneity was observed. between pesticide use and management practices among surveyed farmers. It was concluded that cotton farmers used a broad variety of pesticides, application intensities, storage practices, and protective behaviors. Locality was reported as a risk factor associated with PPE use and risky pesticide storage.