James I. Grieshop

Risk and Home-Pesticide Users

Four hundred and fifteen California residents responded to a ques tionnaire that examined their in-home uses of pesticides, sources of pesticide information, precautions taken, and knowledge of the factors influencing risky or safe use of pesticides. Most respondents reported using pesticides at home, and half said they had tried nonchemical alternatives. Nurseries and garden centers were the primary sources of information, followed by pesticide packages and labels. Minimum precautions (reading labels and not exceeding recommended dosages) were the chief means of self-protection for home users. Over 25% of respondents reported suffering illness from pesticide exposure. An association was found between how safe or dangerous home users believe pesticides are and the degree of their risk-taking behavior. Further analysis indicated, however, that there was considerable risk-taking even among those who perceive great risk. It is suggested that better pesticide labeling would increase cautionary behavior.

Mapping the road for voluntary change: Partnerships in agricultural extension

BIOS and BIFS are two California-based, small-scale alternative agricultural demonstration programs that define an applied Agriculture Partnership Model of extension. This model operates through a structure of local project leadership, a process of responsive farmer outreach and a primary goal of voluntary pesticide reduction. It reaches back to a Land Grant approach to extension of personal relationship, equal partnership, and collaborative learning. Overall findings from a systematic assessment of BIOS and BIFS imply that the operation and impacts of these two Agriculture Partnership Projects owe more to the model, approach, and values of the projects than to any specific farming or extension techniques. A model of local partnership and responsive, learner-centered outreach, operational values such as flexibility and relationship, and a balanced systems approach to farm management and project operation combine to create a promising organizational response to the rapidly changing regulatory, environmental, and political circumstances confronting conventional farmers in California. Though some farm advisors and field research specialists within the University of California Cooperative Extension have successfully used the projects to leverage decreasing Extension resources, increase their one-on-one contact with farmers, and learn new outreach and agricultural skills, others within that system are highly critical of the two projects. Organizational tension between Cooperative Extension and the quasi-university Partnership Projects largely reflects differences in fundamental beliefs and values about legitimate knowledge, learning processes, and effective teaching as well as primary goals for agricultural outreach.

Extending integrated pest management by public mandate: a case study from California.

Abstract This case study systematically analyzed the adoption, over a seven‐year period, of governmentally mandated integrated pest management (IPM) practices by brussels sprouts growers in California. Promotion of required IPM practices were complemented by research, technical assistance, and education carried out by Cooperative Extension and other resources. Information, infrastructure, and perceived risk factors that affected growers and their nonadoption of the IPM presence‐absence sampling procedures were investigated. Growers who were required to use the practices were compared with other growers in a three‐county area not required to use the research‐proven IPM methods. The shortcomings of a mandated strategy and associated factors are discussed, emphasizing the need to consider organizational and human elements when requiring new agricultural production practices and behaviors.

Communication for safety's sake: Visual communication materials for pesticide users in Latin America

Abstract The dramatic increase in the use of pesticides has led to increasing political, social, human health, and environmental concerns. Accidents due to misuse among users have risen dramatically and speak to the need for the development of practical and useful communication programs and materials, particularly with small farmers. Three studies were designed to research and test the comprehensibility of sets of pictographs, pictures, and symbols depicting proper and improper procedures for using agricultural pesticides. Field testing was conducted with Mexican farm workers in California and small farmers and farm workers in Ecuador South America. Results indicate that, like language, the meaning of symbols and visual literacy will have to be taught if the goal of perfect comprehensibility is to be achieved. Furthermore, research on visual communication materials and information systems in this area must become an integral part of formal and nonformal educational efforts. These efforts must be undertake...

Absorbing the shocks: The case of food security, extension and the agricultural knowledge and information system in Havana, Cuba

Since 1959, Cuba has undergone a series of political changes, and since 1989, Cuba has had to invent, evolve, and implement a new system of food production that provides lessons from which others can learn. Many of the changes since 1989 caused shocks to the food-security system. As a result many institutions and individuals had to absorb the realities of a food production and distribution system faced with major disruption. These shocks led to adjustments and adaptations necessary to ensure a secure food supply for the 11 million inhabitants of Cuba. This article focuses on adjustments and adaptations made in the extension domain within Cubas unique agricultural knowledge and information system.

Agricultural pesticide accidents and prevention in ecuador

Accidents due to the misuse and abuse of agricultural pesticides is a worldwide problem. Although data gaps exist, there is an ever-growing body of information on the incidence and nature of pesticide-caused poisonings in the developing countries of the world. The information gathered in a field study in Ecuador, South America, among rural-based users of pesticides contributes to the understanding of the problem. Factors that contribute to accidental poisonings are detailed and described and are related to accident prevention efforts.

On the Road with the Loteria: The Evolution of a Motor Vehicle Safety Social Marketing Program for Latino Farm Workers

In social marketing, the 4 Ps of product, price, place, and promotion are commonly accepted dogma (Andreasen, 1995:15). Their application to the development of effective social marketing interventions, in turn, must be supported by market and audience research, a challenging and often difficult task. On the surface, the specification of these elements may suggest that their application leads down a straight road to desired outcomes. In the real world, the development process usually moves along a much more winding road. The Maneje Seguro! (Drive Safely!) program, initiated in 1994, illustrates the winding evolution and development of one social marketing effort in California. This program was initiated with aspirations of becoming a social marketing program that would use good market analysis along with attention to the 4 Ps. The three-year history of this program began with a narrowly focused outreach effort (Phase I), followed by a community education program (Phase II) and most recently has led to the current but nascent social marketing form (Phase III). Its evolution illustrates the roles research played in the transformation, along with the importance of participation and partnerships. This paper details the role of this participation and partnerships, as well as the standard 4 Ps and the market research that have facilitated the three phases of development of this social marketing intervention, which is targeted at Spanish-speaking farm workers and their driving practices. As the program developed, on-going market research efforts drove the transformations from one phase to the next. In each phase, a transformation of product, price, place and promotion occurred. The other Ps — participation and partnerships — also proved critical in the evolution of the Maneje Seguro! program. Community participation and partnerships were critical to the market, audience, and product development research. Similarly, participation and partnerships contributed to the development of price, place, and promotion activities. Without them, the Maneje Seguro! social marketing program could not have been developed. Partnerships were crucial to the implementation and success of various promotion activities, most importantly in two mass media campaigns. Moreover, partnerships and participation permitted a more rapid transformation from a community education program to a social marketing program.

Farmers' Personality Related to Implementation of Integrated Pest Management

Although integrated pest management (IPM) practices have been shown to be socially and economically beneficial to those who implement them, lower than expected rates of adoption have been found Personality (or cognitive) variables related to implementation of specific IPM practices by farmers were studied for the purpose of using personality attributes as predictors of adoption. Specific personality variables were reasonably powerful in predicting adoption and nonadoption. Implications for the diffusion and adoption of agricultural practices are discussed.

Strategies of education, enforcement and engineering to improve pesticide management and safety

Abstract The dramatic worldwide increase in the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture has created unforeseen consequences resulting in threats to human health and the environment. Integrated strategies of education, enforcement and engineering may well be the most effective ways to deal with these problems. To test this proposition, professionals from agricultural and medical organisations in the Caribbean basin region were questioned on their knowledge and opinions in relation to the need for educational, enforcement and engineering strategies related to pesticide management and safety. The results indicated that the participants believed that all three approaches are needed, although education was the strategy most favoured. Evidence for the support of integrated strategies was also indicated in the participants’ replies. A discussion of the three approaches and the best methods for achieving successful results, including the agro‐medical approach, in the areas of safe use and management of pesticid...