Activities
- Locust Rearing
- Reduced Dosage Technologies
- Analysis of Current Practices
- Operator Monitoring
- Monitoring Domestic Animals
- Environmental Impact
- The Use of GPS
- DGPS Track Guidance Systems
- Data Management
- Novel Spraying Platforms
- Physical Model
- Biological Model
Human Factors in Pesticide Application
Human factors are key in ensuring safe and efficient use of pesticides. Training of people involved in pesticide use is a prerequisite, but there are often constraints that prevent implementing best practice under field conditions. In order to identify these constraints, numerous workshops and training events have been held both at Senior Locust Control Officer level and at operator level.
Two approaches are used : risk analysis workshops and operator perception workshops. Risk analysis encourages participants to identify the risks inherent in any operation, and then to identify the measures that can be taken to reduce or eliminate these risks. They are then asked to discuss whether all the possible measures are taken in practice, and most importantly if not, why not.
This technique has been used to highlight interesting areas for future research. For example, it is a usual recommendation that all protective clothing is washed after use, but in an environment where water is very scarce, this may not always be possible. Alternative systems may be required. Similarly, pesticide transfer from the barrel to the sprayer is often a cause of contamination - Closed Transfer Systems would overcome this problem (note that this is equivalent to "Engineering Controls" in the figure).
Operator perception workshops are run with more junior field staff, and are structured discussions held in the informal atmosphere of a field camp. The aim of this approach is not to find out what should be done, but how things are done and why they are done - hence the perception of the operator
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GCP/INT/651/NOR A project funded by Norway and executed by FAO |
Reports
Risk Analysis Workshop (PDF 94 Kb)