This study examined the impact of farmers' health on labor data was collected through a field survey of 290 rural households productivity of female farmers in Imo State, Nigeria. Primary Descriptive statistics and es...This study examined the impact of farmers' health on labor data was collected through a field survey of 290 rural households productivity of female farmers in Imo State, Nigeria. Primary Descriptive statistics and estimation of efficiency following maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) procedure available in Frontier 4.1 were used to analyze the data. Results from the analyses showed that malaria has the highest prevalence level among female farmers in the study area followed by typhoid fever. The causes of sicknesses vary from cold, stress, mosquito bites and bad drinking water. Furthermore, the results showed that sicknesses affect the productivity of farmers by reducing their work capacity. Also, the distance to source of drinking water from home, source of drinking water, age, body mass index of farmers are also found to significantly affect the physical work output of farmers in the study area. The result shows that the distribution of farmers was highly skewed with about 99% of the farmers having their efficiency above 0.61. This indicates that majority of the farmers are technically efficient in the allocation of resources to crop production, The result also shows that the average efficiency was about 82.9%. Thus, the farmers' level of efficiency can be improved if there is a shift in the fi'ontier, i.e. if factors contributing to inefficiency are adequately controlled. The study recommends the need to invest more on human capital especially health for there to be an improvement in rural productivity. Also, rural development policies should include health policies especially for women since it has a great influence on the household and emphasis should also be on preventive rather than curative health services.展开更多
The arsenic contamination of underground water is a serious problem in rural areas of the Bengal region, where the water pipeline supply is not equipped. Those, who suffer from the contamination are mainly in the poor...The arsenic contamination of underground water is a serious problem in rural areas of the Bengal region, where the water pipeline supply is not equipped. Those, who suffer from the contamination are mainly in the poorest sector. In the region, the selection of drinking water sources is done by women. The local traditional custom of Parda may restrict women's behavior. In this paper, a quantitative way of evaluating women's psychological stress is proposed, and mechanisms of women's water selection are analyzed using behavioral model. Ultimately, the more acceptable ways of installing water facilities to local people in each village are discussed.展开更多
Atrazine, one of the most commonly used herbicides in the United States, has been found to contaminate groundwater. Atrazine is an endocrine disrupter in animals, and could possibly have carcinogenic effects in humans...Atrazine, one of the most commonly used herbicides in the United States, has been found to contaminate groundwater. Atrazine is an endocrine disrupter in animals, and could possibly have carcinogenic effects in humans. A study involving farm families in four Kentucky Counties has been designed to assess exposure to atrazine through drinking water by a quick, reliable, and effective assay that could be performed in non-specialized laboratories. Data were obtained on farming practices and pesticide applications; and drinking water samples were collected from each household. Water consumption for the participants showed that 72% of the households consumed municipal water, 24% had private wells, and 4% used spring water as their source of drinking water. The analytical method used was based on Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay. The results were obtained using a magnetic-particle-based analysis with spectrophotometric reading and showed presence of atrazine in more than 90% of the samples. Results showed that community drinking water sources had significantly higher atrazine concentrations compared to non-community sources (p-value 〈 0.01). The results of this study may be used to conduct further exposure assessments for drinking water protection from pesticide contamination.展开更多
文摘This study examined the impact of farmers' health on labor data was collected through a field survey of 290 rural households productivity of female farmers in Imo State, Nigeria. Primary Descriptive statistics and estimation of efficiency following maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) procedure available in Frontier 4.1 were used to analyze the data. Results from the analyses showed that malaria has the highest prevalence level among female farmers in the study area followed by typhoid fever. The causes of sicknesses vary from cold, stress, mosquito bites and bad drinking water. Furthermore, the results showed that sicknesses affect the productivity of farmers by reducing their work capacity. Also, the distance to source of drinking water from home, source of drinking water, age, body mass index of farmers are also found to significantly affect the physical work output of farmers in the study area. The result shows that the distribution of farmers was highly skewed with about 99% of the farmers having their efficiency above 0.61. This indicates that majority of the farmers are technically efficient in the allocation of resources to crop production, The result also shows that the average efficiency was about 82.9%. Thus, the farmers' level of efficiency can be improved if there is a shift in the fi'ontier, i.e. if factors contributing to inefficiency are adequately controlled. The study recommends the need to invest more on human capital especially health for there to be an improvement in rural productivity. Also, rural development policies should include health policies especially for women since it has a great influence on the household and emphasis should also be on preventive rather than curative health services.
文摘The arsenic contamination of underground water is a serious problem in rural areas of the Bengal region, where the water pipeline supply is not equipped. Those, who suffer from the contamination are mainly in the poorest sector. In the region, the selection of drinking water sources is done by women. The local traditional custom of Parda may restrict women's behavior. In this paper, a quantitative way of evaluating women's psychological stress is proposed, and mechanisms of women's water selection are analyzed using behavioral model. Ultimately, the more acceptable ways of installing water facilities to local people in each village are discussed.
文摘Atrazine, one of the most commonly used herbicides in the United States, has been found to contaminate groundwater. Atrazine is an endocrine disrupter in animals, and could possibly have carcinogenic effects in humans. A study involving farm families in four Kentucky Counties has been designed to assess exposure to atrazine through drinking water by a quick, reliable, and effective assay that could be performed in non-specialized laboratories. Data were obtained on farming practices and pesticide applications; and drinking water samples were collected from each household. Water consumption for the participants showed that 72% of the households consumed municipal water, 24% had private wells, and 4% used spring water as their source of drinking water. The analytical method used was based on Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay. The results were obtained using a magnetic-particle-based analysis with spectrophotometric reading and showed presence of atrazine in more than 90% of the samples. Results showed that community drinking water sources had significantly higher atrazine concentrations compared to non-community sources (p-value 〈 0.01). The results of this study may be used to conduct further exposure assessments for drinking water protection from pesticide contamination.