Pesticide use in Brazil in the era of agroindustrialization and globalization

Abstract

This study examines the trend in pesticide use in Brazil in the 1990s in the context of agroindustrialization and globalization (trade liberalization). It also seeks to document the environmental costs and human health hazard associated with pesticide use in Brazil. Results from time series data indicate that agricultural trade liberalization has led to increased pesticide use in Brazil, particularly in export crops. Results from cross-section municipality-level data point to higher incidence of pesticide use in municipalities with high income, higher levels of education, large-size farms, predominance of export crops, and with high prevalence of sharecropping. Finally, the study finds that Brazil's agricultural growth in the era of trade liberalization has been clouded by serious human health problems and environmental damage caused by pesticide use.