Occupational health hazards of potato cultivators in district Kannauj (U.P.)

Abstract

The many occupational health hazards of agriculture. Health outcomes associated with these hazards range from relatively simple conditions like heat exhaustion to complex diseases like cancer. Exact data on levels of exposure and associated disease prevalence (or health effects) in the developing world are limited. Pesticide-related illnesses, for example, go largely underreported, though it is estimated that 2 to 5 million people every year suffer acute poisonings and that 40,000 die. Millions of injuries are known to occur, with at least 170,000 of these being fatal for agricultural workers each year. Unsafe equipment and conditions, inadequate training, and limited availability and use of personal protective equipment all contribute. Health and injury burdens depend on the type of farming activity, the type of worker, and the geographic location. Research in India suggests that agricultural workers using powered machinery are most at risk from fatal accidents, but that injuries are actually more common in less mechanized villages, probably owing to lower adherence to safety standards. Basic hazards like sharp tools and snake bites can also cause debilitating wounds and fatalities. Present study entitled “Occupational Health Hazards of Potato Cultivators In District Kannauj (U.P.)”. Multistage purposive random sampling technique was followed to select the state, district, blocks and finally respondents. District Kannauj is purposively selected as this is one of the largest potato producer districts while two blocks namely Kannauj and Jalabad were randomly selected. Two villages from each selected block i.e. Basirapur and Mahmoadpur paith from Kannauj and, Badlepurwa and Kheda from Jalalabad, selected randomly. Forty farmers from each selected village, Total sample size 160 respondents were randomly selected for final data collection.