The Population’s Perception of the Risk of Exposure to Pesticides in a Town of Argentina’s Humid Pampa Region

Abstract

Argentina is an agricultural producing country whose primary economy is based on cereal and oilseed crops. The growing application of pesticides, particularly those associated with extensive crops, has raised public concern because their use can create public health problems. The main reason for conflict among residents of farming communities, producers, and local authorities is the concern about the potential consequences on human health and the environment of pesticide spraying. The objectives of this study were to characterize the perception of the population and key actors of the town of Monte Buey, Córdoba Province, during the 2014-2016 period of the sites and activities that lead to potential environmental exposure to agricultural pesticides and to analyze these notions in the light of existing regulations on environmental protection and population health. A descriptive study of qualitative-quantitative methodological triangulation, according to a mostly quantitative design starting with a qualitative study, was carried out. The information provided by key informants and the analysis of the municipal complaint records coincided regarding the sources of population exposure to pesticides. The sites of environmental exposure to pesticides identified in this study thanks to different sources and actors reveal there is a tight network of spaces where production practices take place and spaces where daily life goes on. This goes to show that this town—which is paradigmatic of the situation of the core agricultural area of the Humid Pampa—is directly involved in the production model, and hence its inhabitants.