Prevalence of Agrochemicals Use on Irrigated Vegetables Farms along River Moiben, Uasin-Gishu County

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to carry out a survey on farming practices and agrochemical application along River Moiben in Moiben, Uasin Gishu County where intense agricultural practices are done especially during the dry season. As many other areas near water places, irrigated farming is done along Moiben River during dry season. Structured questionnaires were randomly administered through personal interviews and focused group discussion among farmers who practiced irrigated farming along River Moiben and a total of 136 respondents were interviewed. Data were collected in the month of March, 2019 and entered into the Statistical Package of Social sciences (SPSS) after which it were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results showed that eight villages practiced crop irrigation in Moiben Sub County and they include; Koisagat, Kapsurur, Kaptik, Sasitwo, Kapsoni, Kabomoi, Meibeki and Kapsiliot. From each of these villages, 17 farmers were interviewed. It was also indicated from the results that 94 % of the farmers obtain irrigation water from River Moiben. The main crop grown under irrigation was tomatoes with 91.7 %, others were collard greens, black night shade, cabbage, maize, beans, spinach, coriander and black pepper. The most applied fertilizer was Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) with 99.2 % followed by Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) with 73.3 %, others were urea, Mono-Ammonium Phosphate, farm yard manure and ammonia. The study further recorded the most applied pesticides to be insecticides at 72.5 % of the respondents to be applying them. Labda Cyhalothrin active ingredient was the most applied chemical under insecticide with 31.9 % of the farmers applying it on tomatoes, cabbages and kales. It was noted that some farmers applied fertilizers and pesticides above the recommended level. The study recommends farmers training on appropriate agrochemicals application to reduce the possibility of detrimental effects and on the adverse effects of agrochemicals use on environment and human health. Keywords: irrigation, agrochemicals, human health, survey, crop farming