Adoption Of Pesticides Research Articles

Identification of Factors Affecting Decisions to Adopt Pesticides at Lowland Rice Farms in Indonesia

Pesticides have been widely adopted in the farming industry to control weeds, pests, and diseases in order to minimize yield losses and maintain the quality of lowland rice products; however, farmers often over-apply pesticides. This study analyzed key factors that affected the decision of lowland rice farmers in adopting pesticides and the frequency of pesticide application. A double-hurdle model was used to estimate the factors that affected the decisions of farmers to adopt pesticides and determine the frequency of pesticide application. These results demonstrate that the adoption of pesticides was high (86%) at lowland rice farms in the study area. Lowland rice farmers were found to apply pesticides an average of eight times. Gender, age, education level, access to extension, farming experience, and access to credit significantly affected the decisions of farmers to adopt pesticides in controlling weeds, pests, and diseases at lowland rice farms. The independent variable also significantly affected the frequency of pesticide application. Towards the goal, government and non-government organizations had to increase human resources through education, agricultural extension services to young farmers had to be improved. Specifically, extension material was provided on environmentally-friendly methods of controlling weeds, pests, and diseases and other alternatives to reduce the use of pesticides at lowland rice farms.

Gambling in the garden: Pesticide use and risk exposure in Ugandan smallholder farming

The use and promotion of pesticides is on the increase in many sub-Saharan African countries, including in the smallholder sector. This paper stems from placed-based research in Uganda and aims at advancing current knowledge on smallholder farmers' motivations for pesticide use, the extent and character of such use, as well as on lived experiences regarding the impacts of pesticides. Data was generated through a household survey, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with farmers, complemented by field observations and interviews with local agricultural actors. Conceptually, we draw on political ecology to link local practice to broader conditions and processes and their social-environmental outcomes. Our findings demonstrate that a large majority of farmers have resorted to pesticides as their primary strategy for pest control. Current practices entail substantial human health and environmental risks which tend to be socially differentiated, including along gender lines. Many farmers are concerned about the impacts and uncertainties surrounding pesticides, but face numerous barriers to behavioral change. While intensifying pest pressure is one such immediate barrier, our findings also suggest that deep structural forces shape farmers' adoption of pesticides and prevent adequate protective measures. Rapid market liberalization combined with poor regulation enforcement have resulted in widespread promotion of agro-chemicals and a large informal market for cheap, poor-quality products, including counterfeits. Low public spending on the agricultural sector, a malfunctioning extension system and systematic lack of development and promotion of strategies not centered on synthetic pesticides furthermore severely constrain farmers’ access to support on, and indeed options for, pest control. This lacking capacity and effort to adequately protect smallholders from pesticide exposure and ensure their ability to make informed decisions on pest management clearly places the burden of risk disproportionately on an already vulnerable group.

Hierarchical regression approach to quantify farm households' pro-environmental behavior.

The conflict which exists between a households' self-interest and pro-environmental behavior has led to emotional barriers in ecological conservation. We propose that self-construal affects preferences in this conflicting choice, and self-control plays the mediating role. This study provides conflicting decisions associated with the households' green pesticide adoption behavior in China. Individuals were inquired to select between environmental (pro-environmental) and cost-effective (self-interested) pesticide for food security. Hierarchical regression analysis was employed to progress standard regression estimates by adding a second-stage prior regression to an ordinary model and provides a practical method to evaluate multiple exposures. The results show that the hierarchical regression model may improve environmental protection behavioral studies by including socioeconomic, demographic, and psychological factors. Moreover, our study aims to examine the mediating effect of self-control on the relationship between "self-construal" (SC) and "conflict of self-interest and pro-environmental behavior" (CIPB). Results indicate that self-control (coefficient, - 0.0739; significant level, 5%) partially mediates the relationship between SC and CIPB. Our findings suggest that compared with independent self-construal (coefficient, - 0.05; significant level, 5%), the respondents with interdependent self-construal (coefficient, - 0.09; significant level, 1%) favor pro-environmental choices as they are better in applying self-control and perform pro-environmental behavior. The finding reveals that the hierarchical regression approach provides significant advantages in studying a rural households' pro-environmental decision-making. The current research has policy implications for the adoption of environment-friendly pesticide and organic fertilizer.

Extent of Adoption and Knowledge on Pesticide Use in Vegetable Production in Narsingdi District, Bangladesh

Farmers use various pesticides indiscriminately in their vegetable fields throughout the cropping seasons in Bangladesh. The present study therefore, examined farmers’ extent of adoption and knowledge on pesticide use in vegetable production. The study was conducted in four villages of Narsingdi district, Bangladesh, where 110 vegetable farmers were selected as sample following disproportionate random sampling technique. Interview schedule was used for collection of data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the analysis. Results revealed that most of the respondents were 35 years above, literate, had less than seven family members, small farm size (0.02-1.01 ha), moderate contact with information sources (80.9%), low annual income (66.4%) and received training (64.54 %) on pesticide use. Brinjal and cucurbits had the highest pesticide use among the vegetables, while the mostly used pesticides were Topten 1.8 EC, Actara insecticide and Thiovit fungicide. The extent of pesticide adoption was high (91.0%) and all (100.0%) of the respondents had low to moderate knowledge on pesticide use. Contact with information sources (r = 0.32) showed significant relationship with knowledge on pesticide use. Hence, government should strengthen information and regulations in order to raise awareness on safe use of pesticide.

Awareness and adoption of pesticides by cotton growers

Awareness and adoption of pesticides by cotton growers