Alienation of Agricultural Fertilizer and Pesticide Suppliers: A Case Study in Adana

Abstract

'Green Revolution', a production form based on heavy use of chemicals, hybrid seeds, agricultural machinery and intensive irrigation has become widespread almost all around the world. It is claimed to have increased food production and solved the problem of starvation, but today is under debate because of its harmfull effects on environment and human health. The related literature has focused specifically on manufacturers and users of agricultural chemicals. However, there is an intermediate retailer ring, mostly agricultural engineers, where agricultural producers obtain their inputs and get information and advice on agricultural production. For this reason, in terms of public health and food safety, it is important to determine the retailers' level of sensitivity to environment and human health. The present study focused on the agricultural input retailers in the city of Adana, which is one of the most important basins in Turkey. Totally, 513 agricultural input retailers are located in Adana. In study, approximately 10% of these agricultural input retailers (50 retailers) were interviewed using face to face questionnaires. The study investigated their sensitivity to the environment and human health and also focused on the concept of alienation. Data obtained were evaluated using SPSS software and employing Chisquare independence tests. The study shows that, regardless of the level of education and income, the agricultural input retailers acknowledge that the products they market are harmful to the environment and human health but prefer to ignore this issue on account of financial and technical concerns.