Book Description

Agricultural pests and diseases increased with the intensification of agricultural production resulting in a worldwide increase in pesticide use. The rate of increase was greatest in the developing countries, although the bulk of pesticides is still used in the developed countries. The heavy reliance on chemical pesticides is mainly due to the fact that, in the post-World War II era, synthetic pesticides seemed to provide a quick and easy solution to pests and diseases. Little was known then about their adverce, even dangeorus, sid-effects and externalities on human welfare and the environment. When problems associated with pesticide use became obvious and critical, research on alternative methods of pest management was speeded up and has yielded a new approach to pest control, the integrated pest management (IPM) concept which combines several pest control techniques, including adapted crop management practices, and biological, mechanical and chemical pest control measures. By using non-chemical as well as chemical control measures. IPM reduces the extent of use of pesticides. However, although IPM has proved to be successful in several instances and in different areas of the world, it has not been widely adopted by farmers in developing countries. It is suggested here that an important reason why IPM is not widely in practice in developing countries (the focus of this report), is that the current economic environment and government policies related to pesticides, and to pest management in general, induce an excessive (above the socially optimal level) chemical pesticide use. It is argued here that, the excessive and non-judicious use of pesticides being always associated with negative externalities, governments' interventions through taxation and regulations are needed to minimize these adverse effects. The paper analyzes the pesticide-related policies of a large number of developing countries (pesticides in crop protection and public health uses) using a conceptual framework which distinguishes between price and non-price factors that encourage the execessive and non-judicious use of pesticides. The price factors include all forms of subsidies provided for pesticide imports, local manufacture and use, e.g. preferential foreign exhange rates for imports, reduced or exempted taxes on imports, sales and domestic manufacture, provision of free pesticides, etc.; while the non-price factors include excessive investments in pesticide research and farmers' training in pesticide use while neglecting alternatives, extension focusing on pesticides, lack of information to officials at the policy level and to farmers on alternative pest management technology, etc. On the findings of this report is that the majority of the developing countries are providing financial incentives to farmers to use pesticides and are directly and indirectly subsidizing pesticide imports, domestic manufacture, sales ans use with a combination of mechanisms. Similarly, a number of non-price policies encourage pesticide use in some developing countries where relatively little emphasis is placed on research, extension and farmers' training in IPM as against the pronounced emphasis on chemical pesticides.