| Sumario: |
Pesticide misuse by farmers poses a human, animal, and environmental health hazard. Inadequate storage practices, incorrect pesticide selection, and pesticide formulation overuse were documented in agriculture farms from the Cartago and Guanacaste provinces in Costa Rica. Storage room characteristics in many farms do not follow safety standards for these facilities, as indicated by the Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. Different active ingredients with herbicidal, fungicidal, insecticidal, and bactericidal action are used in crop species for which they are not recommended. These included substances belonging to the carbamate, pyridine, cyclohexanedione, pyrethroid, conazole, benzothiazinone, oxadiazine, and phthalimide chemical groups in Cartago province; and to the neonicotinoid and pyrethroid chemical groups in Guanacaste province. Many pesticide formulations are used in greater amounts than those recommended by manufacturers, among them were bifenthrin, captan, oxamyl, cypermethrin, mancozeb, dimethoate, and deltamethrin in Cartago province, and imidacloprid in Guanacaste province. These substances and their secondary metabolites have the potential to move across different environmental compartments such as water, soil, and air and negatively affect the health of community members rather than just farmers applying these formulations. Well-established pesticide education programs based on on-site visits to farmers can enhance awareness in implementing good practices and ensure rational use of these substances, with positive results in non-target organisms such as humans and ecosystem service providers as well as natural and anthropogenic ecosystems.
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