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Do trained farmers protect themselves when using pesticides? Evidence from rural Vietnam

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Abstract

Programs designed to educate farmers on the safe use and application of agrochemicals, and to train them in integrated pest management, are common in developing countries, where the agricultural workers overuse pesticides and fail to use adequate protection. In this study, I evaluate the effects of exposure to both types of programs—the use of pesticides and protection. The data are from the Mekong Delta, which is the most fertile region of Vietnam, produces most of the country’s rice and vegetables. The Vietnamese government began such educative campaigns in the late 1990s. The results show that while the abovementioned programs are effective in promoting the use of personal protection, they have less success in reducing the use of pesticides. Moreover, the evidence suggests that the two types of program are substitutes rather than complements.

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Notes

  1. In the developed world and, indeed, in rich countries, farmers need training to switch from traditional practices based on agrichemicals to innovative pest management techniques (Jones et al. 2009).

  2. For a description of IPM, see Fagan et al. 1998.

  3. This problem is common to several developing countries (see for example Mengistie et al. in press).

  4. Rebaudo and Dangles (2013) propose simulations, which suggest that an effective instrument to promote the dissemination of IPM is social learning, i.e. imitating neighbours, who have already adopted IPM. In other words, their work suggests that it is not necessary to train all the farmers; rather, it is sufficient to train a significant number of farmers, leaving the other to learn from them.

  5. Similar situations are present in much of the developing world, such as Indonesia (Yuantari et al. 2015) and Ghana (Okoffo et al. 2016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics and Statistics “Cognetti de Martiis”, University of Torino, Lungo Dora Siena, 100, I-10153, Torino, Italy

    Matteo Migheli

  2. CeRP and OEET, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Piazza Arbarello, 8, I-10121, Torino (TO), Italy

    Matteo Migheli

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Correspondence to Matteo Migheli.

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Migheli, M. Do trained farmers protect themselves when using pesticides? Evidence from rural Vietnam. Environ Monit Assess 192, 424 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08353-8

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