Studi Pengaruh Pengelolaan B3 Jenis Pestisida Terhadap Kesehatan Petani dan Penurunan Kualitas Lingkungan di Kecamatan Berastagi

Abstract

Pesticide exposure can cause environmental pollution and health problems for farmers. Berastagi subdistrict is one of the agricultural areas that uses pesticides to manage its agricultural products. This study aims to analyze the level of farmers' knowledge and behavior regarding the management of B3 pesticides, analyze the health conditions of vegetable farmers who use B3 pesticides, analyze the quality of the environment based on soil quality and the presence of animals in areas exposed to pesticides in Berastagi District, and analyze the factors that influence the decline in environmental quality and farmer health in areas exposed to pesticides in Berastagi District. Data collection was conducted using questionnaires for 100 farmer respondents, soil quality for 29 soil samples, and in-depth interviews with 14 farmers. The data collected included data on knowledge, behavior, farmer health, and soil quality. The statistical test method used was Spearman's correlation test. The results of the farmer health analysis showed that 78 farmers had health symptoms. The results of the identification of health complaints most commonly experienced by farmers were muscle aches, dizziness, and itchy skin. The results of the environmental analysis based on soil quality showed that only 10% of soil samples met the soil pH quality standards, 97% of soil samples met the soil organic carbon quality standards, and no soil samples met the soil moisture content quality standards. The results of the animal presence analysis showed that 44% of farmers found more than 5 natural pest enemies and 90% of farmers found earthworms in their agricultural areas, indicating good environmental quality. The results of the Spearman correlation test analysis showed a significant relationship between farmers' knowledge and behavior with a Sig value (2-tailed) of 0.000. There was no significant relationship between health behavior and farmer health with a Sig value (2-tailed) of 0.186. There was no significant relationship between environmental behavior and animal presence with a Sig value (2-tailed) of 0.917. There was no significant relationship between environmental behavior and soil quality, with a Sig value (2-tailed) of 0.710. There was a significant relationship between total behavior and farmer health, with a Sig value (2-tailed) of 0.027. There was no significant relationship between total behavior and the presence of animals, with a Sig value (2-tailed) of 0.477. There is no significant relationship between soil quality environmental behavior with a Sig value (2-tailed) of 0.401. Factors that affect farmer health in Berastagi District are immunity status, weather, and farmer habits. Meanwhile, the factors affecting environmental quality in areas exposed to pesticides in Berastagi District are crop rotation, crop diversification, climate, earthworms, addition of organic matter, and soil type.