What Socio-Economic and Political Factors Lead to Global Pesticide Dependence? A Critical Review from a Social Science Perspective

Abstract

Dependence on chemical pesticides has become one of the most pressing challenges to global environmental sustainability and public health. Considerable regulatory efforts have been taken to mitigate pesticide dependence, which however has resulted in a prevalent ‘managerial failure’. Massive pesticide application has generated severe genetic resistance from pests, which has in turn further aggravated pesticide dependence and thus induced agrochemical industries to develop new pesticide varieties. This review proposes to look beyond the resistance-dependence nexus and presents a comprehensive discussion about global pesticide dependence in a social science perspective, i.e., revealing the socio-economic and political factors that reinforce pesticide dependence. These factors are classified into five intertwined themes: (1) agricultural regime, (2) social process of pesticide application, (3) economic analysis, (4) politics and governance, and (5) promotional failure of alternatives. It is found that pesticide dependence is not just a technological issue in the sphere of natural sciences, but more a human-made issue, with deep-seated socio-economic and political reasons. Addressing contemporary trap of global pesticide dependence entails a full acknowledgement and comprehension of the complex and intertwined factors. Furthermore, this review identifies two major explanatory approaches underlying the extant social science literature: a structuralist approach that stresses macro-level structures such as institutions, policies and paradigms, and an individualist approach that focuses on the decision-making of farmers at the micro level. This review recognizes the limitations of the two approaches and calls for transcending the duality. This study advocates a policy framework that emphasizes alignment and coordination from multi-dimensions, multi-actors and multi-scales. For future research, collaborations between natural and social scientists, and more integrated and interdisciplinary approaches should be strengthened.

The Responsibility of Farmers, Public Authorities and Consumers for Safeguarding Bees Against Harmful Pesticides

“…Farmers' use of pesticides should be based on knowledge and competence, and a lack of these skills can be a cause for the overuse of pesticides (Hu, 2020). Moreover, farmers may make ethical considerations that are be based on, for instance, the extent to which they believe the potential damage caused by pesticide use is acceptable (Sulemana & James, 2014).…”

“…This is done with scientific assessment studies that pesticide manufacturers have funded (Robinson et al, 2020). This position gives these manufacturers a strong responsibility in addition to the responsibility they have to provide label information regarding pesticide dosage for safe use (Hu, 2020).…”

“…Responsibility in relation to pesticide use has previously been investigated, i.e., Karlsson (2007), Drivdal and van der Sluijs (2021) and Hu (2020), and numerous studies have investigated perceptions regarding who is responsible for environmental challenges, such as climate change (see, for instance, Bickerstaff et al, 2008); Neuteleers, 2019;Schlenker et al, 1994). However, to the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to specifically examine the responsibility of consumers, farmers and public authorities in safeguarding bees against harmful pesticides.…”

Diversity, Abundance, and Distribution Patterns of Natural Enemy Insects on Chili (Capsicum annum L.) in Bincau Village, Banjar Regency, South Kalimantan

“…Pesticides increase crop yields, minimize production costs, and enhance quality, thus increasing farmers' income. However, it has been found that the use of chemical insecticides is hazardous to human and animal health or the environment (Hu, 2020;Pazikowska-Sapota et al, 2020).…”

Insect and insecticides in agricultural landscapes; socio-ecological challenges and patterns

“…The case studies in Chapter 2 suggest that drivers from the 'science & technology' and 'society' domains can unlock the pesticide treadmill and initiated an 'escape & reorganization' phase in the past. While I have not been able to study drivers of these domains in detail, other scholars have focused on this (see e.g., Cowan and Gunby, 1996;Cowan and Hultén, 1996;Vanloqueren and Baret, 2008;Pretty and Bharucha, 2015;Boyd, 2018;Hu, 2020). For example, the technology lock-in of conventional pest management with synthetic pesticides has been compared to the adoption of alternative pest management options like Integrated Pest Management (IPM) (Cowan and Gunby, 1996).…”