Economic and Environmental Impact of Integrated Pest Management in Paddy A Case Study of Haryana

Although agricultural pests, weeds and pathogens are thought to destroy about 10-40 per cent of the gross agricultural production, pesticides alone are not now considered to be the perfect answer for controlling them. Alternatively, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) not only reduces pest Populations to satisfactory levels but is sustainable and non-polluting. This Paper has examined the pattern of pesticide use in paddy cultivation and has assessed the economic and environmental impacts of adoption of IPM practices in paddy in Haryana. It has been found that paddy crop is treated four times with pesticides with average use of 2.32 kg a.i. per hectare, of Which 54 per cent are insecticides and 43 per cent are herbicides. The expenditure on pesticide use has been observed to be influenced by the Pesticide price, IPM training in Farmers' Field Schools (FFS) and better crop management practices like optimum nitrogen application. In spite of their little experience as well as partial adoption of different IPM practices, higher net return and reduced unit cost of production have been observed under IPM practices in both basmati and non-basmati paddies on FFS than non-FFS (NFFS) farms. Use of technology even at this level has shown the potential of avoiding the pesticide risk hazards to different environmental categories by 20-30 per cent. Despite farmers' good knowledge of pesticide-related hazards to the environment, they are risk averse. Hence, improving farmers' knowledge of pest management by providing in-depth and intensive information and training along with educating them about its economic efficacy, would be crucial for enhancing IPM adoption.