Authors: Hultberg A, Schermann M, Yang P.

Journal of Agromedicine. Minneapolis, Minnesota. June 9, 2014

ABSTRACT:
The purpose of this project was to provide culturally-appropriate pesticide education for Hmong farmers in Minnesota and develop a cohort of peer educator farmers. The number of Hmong farmers continues to increase in Minnesota, yet few easy-to-understand sources of pesticide safety information exist for this community, and farmers may be using chemicals incorrectly, posing a threat to public health and worker safety. Eight Hmong farmers were selected to participate based on project partner input, their leadership potential and interest in the topic. Farm visits provided information on the type of chemicals used, crops grown, personal protective equipment (PPE) usage, and chemical storage. Participants attended four participatory workshops on key pesticide safety topics: PPE, measuring chemicals, reading chemical labels. Each workshop included hands-on learning and skills-building components. Participants presented on pesticide safety at the Immigrant and Minority Farmer Conference February, 2013, and led a pesticide safety class for March 2013. A poster and picture-based handout with simple English was developed with farmer input and distributed to other farmers. Hmong farmers seek a broad range of agricultural information and skills, including pesticide safety information. Seven of 8 farmers in the project cohort used non-restricted chemicals; one farmer had taken Pesticide Applicator Training. Seven of 8 were not literate in English, and reported inconsistently reading chemical labels or not understanding pre-harvest interval restrictions. Adolescent family members were often asked to translate, including chemical safety information. Participants had very little interaction with Extension or other traditional sources of agricultural education. Future research should focus on developing pesticide curriculum and education delivery methods for non-English speaking farmers. Agricultural education and outreach efforts should include Hmong-speaking staff and use non-computer methods such as phone and mail to reach Hmong farmers. Adolescents should be targeted as “gatekeepers” of information on Hmong farms and included in future studies and outreach efforts. Clinicians should consider providing pesticide education about the safety risks associated with improper use when working with the Hmong community. Sampling studies to determine levels of pesticide residue on fresh produce at farmers markets could determine the extent to which farmers (Hmong or otherwise) are following pre-harvest interval restrictions.

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