Farmers' Willingness to Pay for Health Risk Reductions of Pesticide Use in China: A Contingent Valuation Study.

Wenyu Wang,Jianjun Jin,Haozhou Gong,Rui He,Yuhong Tian

doi:10.3390/ijerph15040625

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for health risk reductions of pesticide use by applying the contingent valuation method (CVM) and to explore the factors that influence farmers’ WTP in China. In total, 244 farmers were randomly selected and interviewed. The mean WTP was estimated to be $65.38 (0.94% of total household income) per household per year for a 5/10,000 reduction in morbidity risk. This study shows that farmers’ socioeconomic and attitudinal factors that significantly affect their WTP include farmers’ farming income, education, household size and risk perceptions. In particular, the results demonstrate that respondents’ social trust, social reciprocity and social networks have significant impacts on their WTP. The findings of this study can provide useful insights for policy makers to design effective policies to address health problems related to pesticide use in the developing world.

Highlights

Pesticides have been playing a significant role in the success of modern agricultural production [1,2].the intensive use of pesticides had adverse impacts on the environment and human health [3,4,5,6].The use of pesticide poses morbidity and mortality risks to farmers and agricultural workers
This study was aimed to estimate the willingness to pay of local farmers for reducing health risks associated with pesticide use and to explore the factors that influence individuals’ valuations by using the contingent valuation method (CVM) in China
Our results indicate that there is a demand for reducing pesticide health risks

Summary

Introduction

Pesticides have been playing a significant role in the success of modern agricultural production [1,2].the intensive use of pesticides had adverse impacts on the environment and human health [3,4,5,6].The use of pesticide poses morbidity and mortality risks to farmers and agricultural workers. Pesticides have been playing a significant role in the success of modern agricultural production [1,2]. The intensive use of pesticides had adverse impacts on the environment and human health [3,4,5,6]. The use of pesticide poses morbidity and mortality risks to farmers and agricultural workers. It has been shown that pesticide exposure could result in various diseases such as cardiovascular disease, acute neurological toxicity, cancer, allergies and neurological disorders [7,8]. Farmers’ health status impairment may have a significant negative impact on agricultural production [9]. Pesticide poisoning has been a major health risk in developing countries, while chronic effects from long-term exposure to pesticides are not widely recognized and documented [10]

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Conclusion