دانلود رایگان مقاله آفت کش lock-in در بخش کشاورزی

Abstract

Despite decades of research into the negative impacts of synthetic pesticides, farmers in Latin America continue to use pesticides at high levels and at a high cost to social and environmental sustainability. In this paper, we present a case study of pest management strategies in small-scale agriculture, focusing on the unsustainable technological lock-in of synthetic pesticides. Of the 196 smallholder farmers we surveyed in the coastal Mala and Omas Valleys of Perú, 22% of respondents experienced pesticide poisoning themselves or by an immediate family member. Additionally, the two most common pesticide categories reported in use are potent neurotoxins. We hypothesized that the farmers in the valleys were locked into synthetic pesticides due to uncertainty, coordination and learning associated with adopting an alternative strategy. Logistic regressions revealed gender (male), consulting an agro-chemical technician, quantity of cultivated land, and apple as a primary crop to be important predictors of synthetic pesticide use. Our findings suggest that these predictors represent the lock-in of synthetic pesticides through network externalities, learning economies and adaptive expectations. We conclude with opportunities to transition to sustainable pest management strategies at the local level in Latin American communities through interventions countering the lock-in of synthetic pesticides.

8. Conclusions

This paper demonstrates the utility of applying technological adoption theory to questions of local level sustainable agriculture and important public health problems in order to identify barriers to transition and opportunities for action. Local government, farmers and NGOs in the Mala and Omas Valleys and across Latin America could strategically address the technological barriers associated with uncertainty, coordination and learning to support a transition to more sustainable pest management strategies. As mentioned previously, Instituto Huayuná has been working to grow a network of organic farmers, host trainings for farmers, and create new market opportunities for farmers in the valleys. Further interventions can focus on decreasing the influence of agro-chemical technicians on farmer pest management decisions, and on targeting renters and pesticide-intensive crop growers (such as apple growers) to introduce programs to reduce the risks of learning, reduce the initial financial investment and build infrastructure around organic agriculture and other sustainable pest management techniques.