article · Qualitative Health Research
Women form a major part of the horticultural workforce in sub-Saharan Africa, yet their work can lead to hazardous pesticide exposure during pregnancy and childcare. A qualitative study examined these occupational health risks among women working in small-scale horticulture in Tanzania. Although cultural norms theoretically reserve pesticide spraying for men, financial hardship causes women to undertake all tasks, including spraying, when men are not available. Economic pressures also compel women to labour while pregnant or postpartum, which often leads to bringing infants directly into treated agricultural environments. While some women attempt protective measures, inadequate safety habits endure because formal, women-centred safety training is largely absent. This combination of poverty, traditional roles, and pesticide exposure creates substantial health hazards for both mothers and their children. Interventions must focus on targeted safety instruction, access to protective gear, and broader economic support.
Pesticide exposure during pregnancy and infancy carries severe health implications for mothers and developing children. Understanding how poverty and gender dynamics force women into hazardous agricultural roles reveals critical gaps in farm safety. Addressing these challenges helps safeguard rural families and ensures agricultural health initiatives effectively protect vulnerable workers.
The findings can inform the design of targeted training programmes, gender-tailored agricultural advisory services, and accessible personal protective equipment for smallholders. Potential users include agricultural extension services, occupational safety organisations, and development funders. Based on the abstract, this research provides formative evidence rather than a market-ready tool, sitting at an early stage that requires the creation and testing of specific intervention programmes.
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Women play a significant role in agriculture worldwide, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where they form a large share of the workforce in horticulture. Horticulture work may expose women to pesticides during pregnancy and childcare, posing serious health risks to women and children. This study explores the experiences of women working in small-scale horticulture in Tanzania during pregnancy and childcare, to understand exposure risks and suggest safety-enhancing interventions. Using the theory of planned behavior framework, five focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with women aged from early 20s to mid-40s. The inductive thematic analysis was used for the analysis of the FGDs. We found that gendered roles in horticulture theoretically assign pesticide spraying to men, with women typically handling lighter tasks. However, when men are unavailable, women, even when pregnant, take on all duties, including pesticide spraying. Financial pressures force many women to work during pregnancy and postpartum, sometimes bringing infants into the horticulture environments. Despite some protective efforts reported by women, inadequate safety practices persist due to a lack of formal training on pesticide use. Therefore, traditional gender roles, poverty, and pesticide exposure intersect to create an occupational health challenge for women in small-scale horticulture. The absence of women-centered training on pesticide safety increases health risks both for women and their children. This study recommends gender-sensitive health training, improved access to protective equipment, and economic empowerment for women to help reduce these risks.
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DOI: 10.1177/10497323251342176
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