Survey of Common Pesticides Used in Storage of Agricultural Produce within Makurdi, Benue State Nigeria

The objective of the study was to survey the common pesticides used in postharvest storage of agricultural produce within Makurdi, Nigeria and to test the knowledge of the farmers and marketers on the health effects of these chemicals. The study provides information on the type of pesticides used by farmers, marketers and consumers of stored agricultural food products such as cowpea, yam chips, cassava chips, sesame seeds, maize and soybeans being major farm produces found within Makurdi and Benue State in general. Selection of 100 respondents were done using simple random sampling techniques across five major markets (Modern, Wurukum, North bank, Wadata and High level markets) through structured interview schedule. Socio-economic characteristics of the respondents were analyzed using frequency and percentages. Percentages were used to determine the common storage pesticides used within Makurdi, storage time, the frequency of customer purchase and perceived health impact of the storage pesticides. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results revealed that 51% of the respondents were males with 41% between the ages of 30-39. Married respondents accounted for 52% and 48% having household sizes of 1-5, only 20% had no form of formal education and 75% were marketers. In a multiple response schedule, aluminium phosphate tablets ranked 80% for storage pesticide while dichlovos was 60%, DDT 35%. Others such as endosulfan, gamalin, carbofuran, carbendazim and permethrin were between 5-15%. Furthermore the study revealed the use of many restricted and obsolete pesticides still in use within this state and in outrageous quantities which could pose health challenge to consumers of these food products.