Dear Dr. Ibifunmilola,

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Partly

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->?>

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available??>

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English??>

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Reviewer #1: 1. The subject dealt with in this manuscript is extremely important. Pesticide use in low and medium income countries leads to an increasing disaster concerning human health and environment.

2. As explained by the authors in their introduction, there is already a large number of studies from different countries showing unsafe practices concerning pesticide handling especially by smallholders. It does not become clear from the introduction, what this study is expected to add to this already existing knowledge? Just confirm the existing knowledge for yet another region?

3. According to Table 2, questions related to “risk knowledge” may have been asked in a suggestive manner. Statements such as “pesticides affect human health” or “pesticides usually affect the environment” seem to already include the expected answer. The “Method” section does not explain, what was done for avoiding suggestive questions.

4. When you have scoring scales from 1 to 15 or from 1 to 13, separation in two groups (good / poor) in most cases does not seem to be the best statistical approach. At least when it comes to quantitative variables such as age or farm size (also educational level could be converted into numerical variables (0 – 1 – 2 – 3), regression analyses (age vs. risk awareness, or farm size vs. PPE use, etc.) might be more meaningful.

5. The only statistically significant connection is between poor hygiene practices and poor knowledge. This is somehow a tautology, and does not constitute a meaningful outcome. Especially when we consider the risk of suggestive questions (see above), it might simply mean that those who better understood the answers expected concerning “risks”, also better understood the answers expected concerning “hygiene practices”.

6. There is no validation of information given during interviews through objective evidence. E.g., when a farmer says he uses overall, the interviewer could ask to show the overall. Farmers’ statements concerning health issues could be cross-checked with data from local health centres.

7. The only surprising result of this study is: according to the authors, there is no link between educational level, risk awareness and safety measures. This very much contradicts what many other studies on this subjects had concluded: farmers need more education! If the manuscript is to be published at all, this aspect should be highlighted much more, starting from title, introduction, statistics, and discussion. Do the data really support this conclusion (see point 4 above)? If yes – what does this mean concerning pesticide use in low and medium income countries? Etc.

8. Language editing is badly needed. Many confusing sentences, wrong grammar, illogical references (“relatedly” – when there is actually no relation; “in addition”, when actually the next sentence is a repetition of the previous one, etc.).

Reviewer #2: 1. The manuscript contains lots of grammatical errors. It is strongly recommended that the authors thoroughly revise the grammar and improve sentence clarity across the entire manuscript.

2. Please ensure table data matches corresponding text descriptions, for instance:

(1) The frequency of females in Table 1 is 15.4%, not 15.0%. Please correct this.

(2) In Table 1, the proportion of farmers who apply pesticides more than eight times per calendar year is reported as 62.3%, whereas the manuscript states 58.4%. Please rectify this discrepancy.

(3) In Table 2, the proportion of farmers aware of prohibited or restricted pesticide categories is 27.8%, but it is stated as 27.4% in the manuscript. Please correct this.

(4) In Table 2, the total number of respondents for the "Route of exposure" survey does not match the sample size of 162 farmers. What accounts for this discrepancy?

3. The ranking of symptoms occurring during or after mixing and applying pesticides in the past 3 months needs to be corrected. (‘headache = skin irritatio’ and ‘nausea = coughing’) (section 3.5)

4. The issue of empty pesticide container disposal is discussed in the Introduction, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion sections of the manuscript, indicating its significance as a key factor. However, this critical aspect is notably absent from the Abstract. Please consider whether this content should be added.

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what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy..-->

Reviewer #1: Yes: Albrecht BenzingAlbrecht BenzingAlbrecht BenzingAlbrecht Benzing

Reviewer #2: No

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While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

Knowledge of the Risks, Hygiene Habits and Perceived Health Issues Associated with Pesticide Mixing and Application among Smallholder Farmers

PONE-D-25-22599R1

Dear Dr. Ibifunmilola,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Vinaya Satyawan Tari, Post doctoral fellow, (M.Sc., B.Ed., Ph.D.)

Academic Editor

PLOS One

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions??>

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->?>

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available??>

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English??>

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #2: The author has fully revised the paper based on the review comments and addressed all the raised points properly. The revised manuscript is logically clear and formally standardized, complying with the journal's publication criteria. Acceptance for publication is recommended.

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what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy..-->

Reviewer #2: Yes: Yanbo HuoYanbo HuoYanbo HuoYanbo Huo

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