Abstract:
The use of urban waste as fertilizer is dangerous for human health and the environment because
of contamination of soil, water sources, plants and air by undesirable elements (heavy metals,
toxic gases, pathogenic organism, etc.). The study was conducted at four garbage disposal sites
in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso). The main objective of this study was to assess the
knowledge and perceptions of producers about the health and environmental risks of using
garbage disposal sites for agricultural production. The data was collected in a semi-structured
interview with a site and producer interview guide. The results show that the majority of
producers are married men with an age range between 47 and 57 years. Most have a very low
level of education, with 36.36% out of school and 45.45% who have reached primary school.
100% of the respondents are aware of the risk of injury but a large number of producers 60 to
80% ignore the other health risks namely the risks related to contaminated food and chemical
and microbiological risks. 50% of producers recognize the negative effects of their activities on
animal life. At the environmental level, the proportion of those with knowledge of the presence
of toxic elements in the air is very high at 93.93%. Only 34.80% of producers are aware of the
risks of accumulation of toxic elements in crops. The analysis of perceptions reveals that less
than 40% of producers agree that they have not observed any evolution of these diseases in their families and employees. The percentage of people with no information on animal healthpathology and death of animals is 57.57% and 63.63% respectively. |
