Farmers' perceptions of insect pests and pest management practices in Bt cotton in the Punjab, Pakistan

Arshad, Muhammad; Suhail, Anjum; Gogi, Muhammad Dildar; Yaseen, Mıfftha; Asghar, Muhammad; Tayyib, Muhammad; Karar, Haider; Hafeez, Faisal; Ullah, Unsar Naeem

doi:10.1080/09670870802419628

Cited by 38 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Furthermore, pesticide companies or even individual retailers managed to promote the use of chemicals in agriculture by providing to the farmers different attractive services with lucrative incentives, such as the on-advance distribution of pesticides, sprayers, and fertilizers without immediate payment or in many cases without any payment at all, as well as various kinds of lotteries that ultimately lead to encouragement of pesticide use over other natural alternatives of pest control. A previous study with cotton farmers in Punjab, Pakistan, found that farmers relied heavily on chemicals to control pests in Bt cotton as they were easily persuaded by the advertisements of pesticide companies (Arshad et al 2009). A recent study from Pakistan revealed that pesticide companies were not interested much in promoting IPM practices, whereas according to farmers, the staff of private extension services were often found to give emphasis on the aggressive use of pesticides rather than their judicious use (Ali et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Factors preventing the adoption of alternatives to chemical pest control among Pakistani cotton farmers

Khan

Damalas

2014

International Journal of Pest Management

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Providing pest control solutions that are less harmful to the farmers and the environment, while maintaining effectiveness on pests is a major goal in modern crop protection. A survey of randomly selected cotton farmers from two districts of Punjab in Pakistan was conducted to study common crop protection practices and related behaviors of farmers in an attempt to identify factors preventing the adoption of alternatives to chemical pest control in the area. Almost all farmers reported using pesticides extensively as the only way of controlling pests and often by mixing two or more different pesticide products. Most farmers felt that spraying with chemicals is not only highly effective, but it is also the only viable option available at the moment. Thus, despite significant health concerns, they felt forced to use pesticides. Almost half (49%) of the farmers, irrespective of age, showed a tendency toward pesticide overuse by spraying higher quantities of pesticides than those required. To model farmers' behavior toward environmentally sound alternatives of pest control, a binary probit regression model was used expressing behavior as a function of age, education, farm size, income, risk perception levels, adverse health effects by pesticides, and training. Education and training were the main determinants of environmentally sound behavior in pest control, in the sense that high levels of education and training appeared to discourage pesticide use in the study area. In contrast, experience of health problems was not associated with behaviors toward pesticide reduction or adoption of alternative pest control practices. Additionally, governmental policies, such as the outdated extension system and the easy availability of pesticides under a non-existing or poor regulation system, which encourage farmers to utilize pesticides, should be considered as extra major barriers in the adoption of alternative pest control practices.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Factors preventing the adoption of alternatives to chemical pest control among Pakistani cotton farmers

Khan

Damalas

2014

International Journal of Pest Management

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“…Attribute levels were determined based on previous studies on pesticide externalities (e.g., Brethour and Weersink, 2001;Hossain et al, 2004;Florax et al, 2005;Arshad et al, 2009;Travisi and Nijkamp, 2008) and additional discussions with agronomic and environmental experts. The attributes and their levels are shown in Table 3.…”

Section: Experimental Design and Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Valuing financial, health, and environmental benefits of Bt cotton in Pakistan

Kouser

Qaim

2013

Agricultural Economics

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Abstract: Data from a farm survey and choice experiment are used to value the benefits of Bt cotton in Pakistan. Unlike previous research on the economic impacts of Bt, which mostly concentrated on financial benefits in terms of gross margins, we also quantify and monetize positive externalities associated with technology adoption. Due to lower chemical pesticide use on Bt cotton plots, there are significant health advantages in terms of reduced incidence of acute pesticide poisoning, and environmental advantages in terms of higher biodiversity and lower soil and groundwater contamination. These positive externalities are valued at US$ 79 per acre, of which half is attributable to health and the other half to environmental improvements. Adding average gross margin gains of US$ 204 results in an aggregate benefit of US$ 283 per acre of Bt, or US$ 1.7 billion for the total Bt cotton area in Pakistan. Terms of use: Documents in Acknowledgements

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“…Even in transgenic Bt cotton in developing countries, the majority of the farmers were found to rely heavily on chemicals to control key cotton pests (Yang et al, 2005;Arshad et al, 2009). Farmers' knowledge of pest management issues is one of the factors affecting pesticide use in practice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers' knowledge about common pests and pesticide safety in conventional cotton production in Pakistan

Khan

Damalas

2015

Crop Protection

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Farmers' perceptions of insect pests and pest management practices in Bt cotton in the Punjab, Pakistan

Cited by 38 publications

References 17 publications

Factors preventing the adoption of alternatives to chemical pest control among Pakistani cotton farmers

Factors preventing the adoption of alternatives to chemical pest control among Pakistani cotton farmers

Valuing financial, health, and environmental benefits of Bt cotton in Pakistan

Farmers' knowledge about common pests and pesticide safety in conventional cotton production in Pakistan

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