Multi-stakeholder evaluation and comparative AHP-based prioritization of pesticide-related risks associated with plant protection machinery

The increasing use of plant protection machinery in modern agriculture has intensified concerns regarding pesticide-related risks affecting both human health and the environment. Despite extensive research on pesticide application, the prioritization of these risks from a multi-stakeholder perspective remains limited. This study aims to evaluate and prioritize pesticide-related risks associated with plant protection machinery using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). A total of 32 participants representing four stakeholder groups—academia, farmers/operators, manufacturers, and public authorities/non-governmental organizations (NGOs)—were involved in the analysis. Five key risk criteria were identified: operator pesticide exposure, environmental risks related to pesticide drift, machinery tightness and technical safety, ergonomic load and operator strain, and training and operational error risk. Pairwise comparison data were collected and analyzed using AHP to determine the relative importance of each criterion. The results indicate that operator pesticide exposure and environmental risks are the most critical concerns across all stakeholder groups. Although variations in individual judgments were observed, the overall prioritization showed strong agreement, as confirmed by a high Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W = 0.888). The findings highlight the importance of integrating human health, environmental sustainability, and technical considerations in pesticide risk management. The proposed multi-stakeholder AHP framework provides a practical decision-support tool that can be applied to improve safety and sustainability in pesticide application systems.