AGRICULTURAL WASTEWATER USE, INCIDENCE AND COSTS OF ILLNESS AMONG URBAN FARM HOUSEHOLDS IN OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO

Abstract

Agricultural wastewater irrigation practices increasingly reached problematic levels, thereby raising concerns for higher risks and costs of water-related diseases for farm households. After reviewing the empirical literature, it appears, however, that both micro and macro level studies have not provided clear evidence to show the linkage between wastewater irrigation and incidence and costs of illness. The main objective of this study is to analyze how wastewater use for irrigation influences incidence and financial costs of illness among farm households, and the effect of illness on household farm production. Using a crosssectional data, results showed that wastewater use was strongly correlated with incidences of malaria, skin infections, and diarrhoea. Also, financial burden of illness was significantly higher for households that used wastewater compared with those that used relatively clean-water. Incidence of malaria, household nonfarm income, size of dependants, and number of care-givers were among factors that significantly influenced farm households’ financial burden of illness. Adoption of wastewater or clean-water was generally influenced by factors such as household non-farm income, access to extension service, type of farm cultivated, location of farm, and costs of clean-water. Illness reduced family labour supply to household farm, but increased hired labour use, which offset the effect of illness on farm income. It is, however, argued that distributing insecticide mosquito nets and protective clothing, and implementing a broader health insurance scheme will reduce exposure to diseases and mitigate against catastrophic financial burden of illness. Also, increasing extension access, providing wastewater filters, promoting backyard farming and off-farm income generating activities, among others, will profoundly control wastewater use and increase adoption of relatively clean-water for irrigation.