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Pesticide lock-in in small scale Peruvian agriculture

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  • Hammond Wagner, Courtney
  • Cox, Michael
  • Bazo Robles, José Luis

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.

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  • Hammond Wagner, Courtney & Cox, Michael & Bazo Robles, José Luis, 2016. "Pesticide lock-in in small scale Peruvian agriculture," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 72-81.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:129:y:2016:i:c:p:72-81
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.05.013
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    Cited by:

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    2. Grovermann, Christian & Schreinemachers, Pepijn & Riwthong, Suthathip & Berger, Thomas, 2017. "‘Smart’ policies to reduce pesticide use and avoid income trade-offs: An agent-based model applied to Thai agriculture," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 91-103.
    3. Bakker, L. & Sok, J. & van der Werf, W. & Bianchi, F.J.J.A., 2021. "Kicking the Habit: What Makes and Breaks Farmers' Intentions to Reduce Pesticide Use?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    4. Adam A. Prag & Christian B. Henriksen, 2020. "Transition from Animal-Based to Plant-Based Food Production to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture—The Case of Denmark," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-20, October.
    5. Hamid El Bilali, 2020. "Transition heuristic frameworks in research on agro-food sustainability transitions," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1693-1728, March.
    6. Enthoven, Laura & Van den Broeck, Goedele, 2023. "How to boost the local trade of participatory guarantee system (PGS)-certified produce? A value chain perspective in Huánuco, Peru," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    7. Cox, Michael & Payton, Frederick & Pimentel, Leoncio, 2019. "A gilded trap in Dominican rice farming," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 10-20.
    8. Akimowicz, Mikaël & Del Corso, Jean-Pierre & Gallai, Nicola & Képhaliacos, Charilaos, 2022. "The leader, the keeper, and the follower? A legitimacy perspective on the governance of varietal innovation systems for climate changes adaptation. The case of sunflower hybrids in France," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    9. Pan, Dan & Zhang, Ning, 2018. "The Role of Agricultural Training on Fertilizer Use Knowledge: A Randomized Controlled Experiment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 77-91.
    10. Inga C. Melchior & Jens Newig, 2021. "Governing Transitions towards Sustainable Agriculture—Taking Stock of an Emerging Field of Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-27, January.
    11. Hamid El Bilali, 2019. "Research on agro-food sustainability transitions: where are food security and nutrition?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(3), pages 559-577, June.
    12. Li, Kai & Li, Qi, 2022. "Social embeddedness and agricultural technology diffusion from the perspective of scale differentiation – a case study from China," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 26(1), August.

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