Optimal use of pesticide for paddy production in the south-west region of Bangladesh

Use of pesticide in agricultural production abates crop damages from pest attack. However, it affects farmers’ health and environmental ecology negatively. Hence, revealing socially optimal level of pesticide use is an essence. We estimate such optimal level by accounting both positive and negative effects through using damage control and willingness to pay approaches, and then, compute associated social welfare gain for paddy production in the south-west region of Bangladesh. Similar studies focusing paddy production, one of the most pesticide-intensive agricultural practices in Bangladesh, have not been found in the literature. The study finds the socially optimal level of pesticide use to be 1081 gram/acre against the mean use 1600 gram/acre. Accordingly, around 32 percent of mean pesticide is overused, though it is far below than the private optimal level. Adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technology with training limits such overuses close to socially optimal level. This adoption generates substantial health and environmental benefit of BDT 4902 per acre at a cost of private loss BDT 241 per acre. Hence, social welfare gain is around BDT 4660 per acre or around US$ 200 million in aggregate. However, this estimate widely varies with the adoption of IPM with or without training.