Introduction

Pesticide formulations are preparations containing one or more active ingredients that, through different chemical or biological mechanisms, destroy, block, or prevent the action of unwanted organisms. These include herbicides, fungicides, acaricides, nematicides, insecticides, and rodenticides (Michalak & Chojnacka, 2014). However, these active ingredients (a.i.) and their secondary metabolites can move into different environmental compartments (air, soil, water), through different processes, such as volatilization (Gan, Yates, Papiernik, & Crowley, 1998), drift (Zimdahl, 2018), runoff (Chen, Guo, & Ngo, 2019), leaching, and biological vectors (Johanif et al., 2021).

The United Nations Environment Program (2022) highlights the importance of evaluating human activities, as well as the stakeholders involved in the problem, particularly the sectors related to food production, such as agriculture farms, emphasizing the importance of assessing situations of inadequate farm management practices, to promote appropriate practices through changes in community behavior.

Pesticide misuse by farmers can include inadequate application methods, improper storage practices, poor maintenance of application equipment, overuse, and in correct pesticide selection (Handford, El liott, & Campbell, 2015). These issues have been documented on agricultural farms in the Cartago and Guanacaste provinces of Costa Rica.

Methodology

Thirteen participants in both provinces were recruited between August 2022 and April 2023, based on geographic proximity and respondent's willingness to participate in the research. Ten farms in Cartago province are located in the districts of Llano Grande and San Juan de Chicuá, while three farms in Guanacaste province are situated in the districts of Caballito, San Antonio, and Santa Elena.

Data were collected through structured interviews which gathered information on the types and dosages of pesticides used. Each participant was asked to access agrochemical storage rooms to document, through photographs, information on the plastic or glass container labels about the a.i. in the formulation and their concentrations. The characteristics of storage rooms were compared to the standards recommended by the Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG for its Spanish acronym).

Each product information sheet for agricultural pesticides was searched and examined to verify whether every a.i. was recommended for the crop to which it had been applied and whether the formulated product was approved for use in Costa Rica and the Central American and Caribbean regions. Additionally, the information provided by participants regarding the dosages used and information from product labels indicating a.i. and concentration was used to calculate agrochemical usage in units of kg ha -1. These calculations were made to determine whether the substances were used at higher dosages than those suggested by the manufacturer.

Analysis and results

Cartago Province

Observations from various pesticide storage rooms revealed several issues: misplacement of powdered products on lower shelves instead of upper shelves, improper storage of opened powdered pesticide plastic bags (as they were not sealed with a clip or fastener), presence of produce boxes near pesticide formulations in the storage room, out-of-date pesticides, unlabeled pesticide containers, damaged pesticide labels, lack of labels in shelves to classify pesticides, and storage rooms that were not locked, well-ventilated, or sufficiently lit.

Additionally, three a.i. were applied despite not being recommended for use on a particular crop in Costa Rica although they were recommended for that crop in other nations in the Central American and Caribbean region (Table 1). Eight a.i. were applied despite not being approved in any crop in Costa Rica or other nations (Table 2). Seven a.i. were applied in concentrations higher than those suggested by manufacturers (Table 3).

Guanacaste Province

Identified inadequate pesticide storage practices included the use of pesticide containers to store water, the misplacement of pesticide containers (scattered on the floor), a lack of infrastructure maintenance holes on the roofs of storage rooms), the presence of unlabeled pesticide containers, the presence of damaged pesticide labels, and poorly ventilated storage rooms.

In addition, one a.i. is being applied despite not being indicated for use on a particular crop in Costa Rica, although it is recommended for that crop in other Central American nations (Table 4). Another a. i. is used despite not being recommended in a particular crop in Costa Rica or other countries in the Central American or Caribbean region (Table 5). Furthermore, one a.i. was applied in quantities exceeding the manufacturers’ recommendations (Table 6).

Adhering to safety standards in pesticide storage rooms decreases the occurrence of incidents such as spills or inhalation of hazardous a.i., as well as the risks of workers experiencing acute and chronic health effects (Kammel, 1991). It also enhances pesticide product control by avoiding practices such as using expired pesticide formulations and mishandling pesticide containers (Paolillo, 2020).

Conversely, exposure to many of these substances has been demonstrated to have negative environmental, animal, and human health effects. Researchers have document ed human health effects of active ingredients such as dimethoate (Dogan et al., 2011 Reuber, 1984; Silva et al., 2021; Wang al., 2013), mancozeb (Axelstad et al., 2011 Cecconi, Paro, Rossi, & Macchiarelli, 2007 Perocco, Alessandra Santucci, Campani, & Forti, 1989), cypermethrin (AlKahtane et., 2018; Hu et al., 2011; Shukla, Yadav, & Arora, 2002), deltamethrin (Kumar, Amand, Saket, Mukhopadhyay, & Sharma, 2015; Lu et al., 2019), and ziram (Kanemoto-Kataoka, Oyama, Ishibashi, & Oyama, 2017; Li, Kobayashi, & Kawada, 2011; Lulla et al., 2016) using human cells or model organisms. These include cytotoxic effects (apoptosis, necrosis, oxidative stress); toxicity to DNA and organs such as the liver and kidneys; alteration of immune response, endocrine disruption, and potential development of diseases such as cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

Similarly, negative effects due to exposure to active ingredients such as imidacloprid (De Lima E Silva et al., 2017; Laycock, Lenthall, Barratt, & Cresswell, 2012; Soares, Jacob, Carvalho, Nocelli, & Malaspina, 2015; Suchail, Guez, & Belzunces, 2000), deltamethrin (Dai et al., 2009; Yadav, Shinde, Patil, Kote, & Kadam, 2023; Yang et al., 2029) and dimethoate (Christen, Joho, Vogel, & Fent, 2019; Jepson, Efe, & Wiles, 1995; Martikainen, 1996) on organisms that provide ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes have been demonstrated in different levels of biological organization. This reduces their capacity to provide supporting and regulating ecosystem services such as soil formation, matter decomposition and transformation, pollination, and pathogen and pest control, which implies increases in production costs for farmers.

Technical consultants may advise farmers to use non-recommended pesticides on a given crop to avoid pest resistance to frequently used a.i. It is also possible that pesticide supply stores advise farmers to use non-recommended pesticide formulations to increase sales. The scenarios described above deserve further attention.

Conclusions

Well-established education programs increase awareness regarding the importance of safe pesticide usage (National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Research Foundation, 2014). The Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock has several publications emphasizing the importance of participating in educational programs and understanding aspects such as using the recommended dosage when preparing pesticide mixtures, ensuring that a given pesticide formulation is effective in treating the target pest species, applying pesticides at the appropriate intervals, and reading product labels carefully (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, 2010).

It is recommended that Costa Rican stakeholders such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG for its Spanish acronym) and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE for its Spanish acronym) facilitate communication channels where farmers can receive accurate information and feedback on product application, clarify doubts regarding technical data sheets and confirm whether the recommended usage explained by agro-commercial store personnel is correct.

Moreover, these institutions can provide farmers with effective educational resources such as on-site visits by community leaders, where farmers can receive technical advice tailored to their needs. The farmers can also receive recommendations on sustainable practices using low-cost technologies, such as tablets, to illustrate concepts and processes and promote awareness through the media.

There is an information gap regarding the human health effects of many active ingredients. Therefore, it is also recommended that stakeholders conduct studies on the health effects of these pesticides to identify those that could pose potential human health and environmental hazards.

The proper use of pesticide formulations by farmers is beneficial for different stakeholders: for consumers, it ensures food security; for farmers, it may result in increased productivity, decreased health risks, and protection against economic losses when produce is exported to foreign nations (Handford et al., 2015).

Funding

This study was sponsored by the Institutional Fund for Academic Development (FIDA for its Spanish Acronym) of the National University of Costa Rica (project 0193-21). Ms. Sánchez-Menjivar received a scholarship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) to pursue her master’s degree in Conservation Medicine at the National University of Costa Rica.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Author Contribution Statement

All authors declare that they read and approved the final version of this paper. All the authors declare that the final version of this paper was read and approved. The contribution percentages for the conceptualization, preparation, and correction of this paper were as follows: M.S.M. 60 %., J.V.S. 13.3%, F.R.M. 13.3 %, and K.B.P. 13.3 %.

Data availability statement

The data supporting the results of this study will be made available by the corresponding author, M.S.M, upon reasonable request.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr. Carsten Brühl, M.Sc. Michael Mendez and MSc. Christian Herrera for their technical advice; to MSc. Margareth Pinnock, Josué Rivera Castillo, Kevin Lloyd, Julio Gonzales, Minor Redondo, and all farmers who helped during the sampling campaigns at the study sites in both provinces.

References

Publication Dates

History