Study on how rural and urban communities understand the risks of Agro-chemicals in foods

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue X, October 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186

 Study on how rural and urban communities understand the risks of Agro-chemicals in foods

 W. A. S. Wijekoon* & G. W. P. Prasad
Department of Sociology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
Corresponding author *

Abstract: Food production is an essential factor in the growing population of the world. Base on this factor, various methods are used to accelerate food production and productivity in different contexts. In that process, chemicals are used on a large scale at different stages. Today this situation is affecting various aspects of human lives and it is also affecting to change the buying patterns of the consumers. Considering this, a study has been conducted on how rural and urban communities perceive the risks of agro-chemicals in food when food purchases. The main purpose of this is to identify how rural and urban communities perceive the risks of agro-chemicals in food, and as a sub-objective, how much consumers are aware of the agro-chemicals in foods and how chemicals in foods effect on the behavior of consumers. It can also be called whether the way is informed. The impact of agro- chemicals in food exposure on rural and urban communities is a matter of concern and a comparative study is being conducted in Passara and Maharagama Divisional Secretariats. Information were obtained from 200 houses by covering 100 houses equally in each Divisional Secretariat Division through questionnaires and interviews. The findings of the study revealed that, only 100% of the urban population buys food, 62% of the rural population buys where they cultivate the rest of 38% on their own. Almost all urban dwellers who buy food when they are aware of the dangers of agro- chemicals contained food. The main problem facing the people is the high cost of agrochemical free food. Although this is not considered by most of the urban community, it has been a decisive factor in focusing on the rural community. Most respondents had expressed interest in healthy and nutritionally rich food as well as environmental concerns and sustainability. The most important consideration when buying food is the family’s preferences and low cost, respectively. Most food buyers are at an optimal level of awareness of the chemical risks in foods. Also, although awareness of the dangers of chemicals in foods is similar in urban and rural areas, it can be concluded that the response to food purchases is different in urban and rural areas.

Keywords: Food, Risk, Consumption, Chemicals

I. INTRODUCTION

Today, chemicals have become an essential part of the food production process. This was a by-product of the Green Revolution and led to an exponential increase in world food production. Until the 15th century, the use of modern technology for agriculture was minimal. Then came the era of chemical agriculture with the agrarian revolution, which saw the widespread use of chemicals from crop cultivation to the end of the food production process (Gunasekara, 2004). The unfortunate situation here was that the negative effects of the chemical increased. As a result, traditional agriculture based

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