Intention and Application Behavior of Farmers towards Pesticides' Labels and Pictograms in Ardabil County: Application of Theory of Planned Behavior

Labels and pictograms are the first sources of information for the safe use of pesticides. The aim of this study was to investigate intention and behavior of farmers towards pesticides' labels and pictograms in Ardabil county using the Theory of Planned Behavior. The statistical population was including all wheat and potato growers of the county (N= 4964). Using multistage random sampling method a sample of 200 farmers was selected and the necessary data were collected for the cropping year of 2018-2019. An standard questionnaire of theory planned behavior was used as the research instrument. However, some necessary modifications wad carried out in order to contextualize it. Content validity of the instrument was confirmed using faculty members and its reliability was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. According to the results, respondents had a relatively positive attitude and powerful subjective norms and intention toward application of labels and pictograms. However, their actual application (behavior) was relatively poor. Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control showed positive and significant impacts on the intention to use. Perceived behavioral control had a positive and significant impact on behavior; but the impact of intention on behavior was not statistically significant. Constructs of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control explained 58% of variance in the behavioral intention towards labels and pictograms. Furthermore, perceived behavioral control and intention accounted for 63% of variance of actual behavior.