Pesticides and Health in Highland Ecuadorian Potato Production: Assessing Impacts and Developing Responses

Cole, Donald C.; Sherwood, Stephen; Crissman, Charles C.; Barrera, Víctor Hugo; Espinosa, Patrico

doi:10.1179/oeh.2002.8.3.182

Cited by 31 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Despite high levels of exposure to pesticides, women in Ecuador participate at far lower rates than men in pesticide training (Cole et al, 2002). Excluding women from pesticide-related training can have important human health consequences and part of the explanation for low adoption of IPM is failure to involve women in training and outreach .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farm Decision Making and Gender: Results from a Randomized Experiment in Ecuador

2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Substantial resources have been devoted to mitigating the asset gender gap in developing country agriculture. Efforts have been taken to understand the role of women in decision making and in farm operations. Recommendations for best practices in eliciting information on women's roles have emphasized the importance of sex-disaggregated data collection and analysis. Collection of sex-disaggregated data is not straightforward and careful attention to context is needed. In Ecuador's highlands, chemical use in agriculture is widespread, and outreach and training programs to reduce this use are essential. These programs should target the appropriate decision makers. This paper presents results from a field experiment conducted in the Ecuador highlands where responding farm households are randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: (i) a male respondent, (ii) a female respondent, and (iii) both adult male and female respondents (interviewed separately, but with knowledge that the other would also be interviewed). We assess whether treatment assignment affects responses to questions about decision making and responsibility for agricultural activities.Perceptions about household decision making and who is responsible for agricultural activities vary substantially by type of respondent. Men are more likely to claim sole responsibility; women are more likely to claim responsibility or that decisions are jointly made. In households where both man and woman were interviewed (separately) we found stark differences in responses about responsibilities, with men claiming sole responsibility at higher rates. Interviewing both members led to less divergence in responses, but large differences in perceptions about responsibilities remain when both are interviewed. Best interviewing practices depend on the type of information needed: for precise quantification of gender roles, complex methods may be necessary, but where qualitative information is sufficient, single-member interviews may be sufficient. Keywords:Women's decisionmaking, survey design, randomized control trial, integrated pest management, Ecuador. 3 Highlights:Household decision makers should be targeted in pesticide education programs, yet no solid guidance exists for identifying these decision makers Randomized survey experiment uncovers information about how survey design affects responses about decision making and responsibilities Women and men have different perceptions about decision making, but interviewing both in the same household does not solve the problem More research is needed on how to measure gender roles in household decision making 4 Acknowledgements

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farm Decision Making and Gender: Results from a Randomized Experiment in Ecuador

2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The results did not confirm that they were well aware of the negative externality of the conventional cotton production method on eco‐tourism services and the preservation of ecosystems and biodiversity (Azad and Ancev, ; Nijkamp et al, ; Sinden and Griffith, ) and on human health hazards caused by chemical sprays carried out without any protective clothing, which is consistent with patterns noted in other developing countries (Isin and Yildirim, ; Kouser and Qaim, ). If the use of chemicals to control pests is not reduced, there is little prospect that the harm to human health could be reduced through greater adoption of protective clothing, which few farmers in developing countries can afford (Cole et al., ; Wilson and Tisdell, ) and farmers are reluctant to wear such gear under tropical conditions. Pesticide‐induced damage to human health and the environment could change cotton farmers’ attitudes, particularly when the cost of sickness and environmental degradation are substantial and recurrent (Atreya et al., ).The age of cotton farmers and the number of years of cotton cultivation experience also did not significantly influence the WTP, suggesting that cotton farmers—young, old or experienced or not—behave in the same way regarding TSC adoption.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cotton farmers’ willingness to pay for pest management services in northern Benin

Kpade¹,

Mensah²,

Fok

et al. 2016

Agricultural Economics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study was carried out to assess cotton farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for pest management services in northern Benin. Targeted staggered control (TSC) has been introduced to reduce pesticide use in cotton cropping and generate an estimated benefit of FCFA48,800 (€74.40) per cotton hectare accruing from increased productivity and reduced pesticide cost. However, TSC application requires extra time for pest identification and scouting, and its adoption remains low due to the lack of funding to boost farmers' awareness and cover training costs. An interval regression model was used to analyze responses to a double-bounded contingent valuation survey with data collected from 300 cotton farmers. The results showed that 87.3% of cotton farmers were willing to pay for TSC services. Annual WTP per cotton hectare was estimated at FCFA16,962 (€25.80), revealing an existing demand for TSC adoption. Respondents' WTP was driven by farm and socio-economic characteristics. Financial mechanisms managed by farmers could thus potentially foster technology adoption, and in turn, generate economic and environmental benefits.JEL classifications: O13, Q15, Q51

show abstract

“…Social science research has slackened. It remains unnoticed by most social scientists that a heterogeneous set of actors have worked intensively on shaping pesticide regulation over the last two decades (Cole et al 2002, 2011, Dalvie et al 2014, Eddleston et al 2012, Jansen and Dubois 2014. Many practices, relationships, and narratives have changed.…”

Section: The Larger Field Of Research On Pesticidesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Business conflict and pesticide risk regulation in Costa Rica: supporting data on laws and instructive events, 1998-2014

Jansen¹

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Pesticides and Health in Highland Ecuadorian Potato Production: Assessing Impacts and Developing Responses

Cited by 31 publications

References 0 publications

Farm Decision Making and Gender: Results from a Randomized Experiment in Ecuador

Farm Decision Making and Gender: Results from a Randomized Experiment in Ecuador

Cotton farmers’ willingness to pay for pest management services in northern Benin

Business conflict and pesticide risk regulation in Costa Rica: supporting data on laws and instructive events, 1998-2014

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About