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

Transcription

1 Economic and Environmental Impact of Integrated Pest Management in Paddy - A Case Study of Haryana Alka Singh 1, Ranjit Kumar 1, D.K. Das 2 and P.K.Jain 1 Agricultural Economics Research Review (2004): Vol. 17 (Conf. No.): Abstract Although agricultural pests, weeds and pathogens are thought to destroy about per cent of the gross agricultural production, pesticides alone are not now considered to be perfect answer to controlling them. Alternatively, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) not only reduces pest populations to satisfactory levels but is sustainable and non-polluting. The present study examined the pattern of pesticide use in paddy cultivation and assessed the economic and environmental impact of adoption of IPM practices in paddy in Haryana. The results showed that paddy crop is treated four times with pesticide with average use of 2.32 kg a.i. per hectare of which 54 per cent was insecticide and 43 per cent herbicide. The expenditure on pesticide use was observed to be influenced by pesticide price, IPM training in Farmers Field Schools 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 was observed under IPM practices in both basmati and non-basmati paddy on FFS farms as compared to NFFS farms. Use of technology even at this level has shown the potential of avoiding the pesticide risk hazards to different environmental category by percent. Despite of farmers good knowledge of pesticide related hazards to the environment, they are risk averse. Hence, improving farmers knowledge of pest management by providing indepth and intensive information and training along with convincing farmers about its economic efficacy would be crucial for enhancing IPM adoption. Introduction Pesticides coupled with other modern inputs undoubtedly have enabled the Indian farmers to achieve unparallel increase in agricultural productivity over the last five decades. However, the health hazards associated with pesticide use are also receiving attention globally. Environmental contamination from pesticide ranges from polluting water, air and soil to the alteration of the ecosystem resulting in detrimental effects to non-target organisms too. Evidences of the pesticide threats to human health and trade off between health and economic effects have been documented in several studies (Rola and Pingali, 1993; Antle and Pingali, 1994). Recently increased attention has been focused on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and other environmentally safe methods of pest 1 Division of Agricultural Economics, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. 2 National Center for Integrated Pest Management, New Delhi. The data used in the present study was drawn for AP CESS project Pesticide Use and Sustainability of Agriculture-Emerging Issues and Policy Options.

2 management to reduce pesticide use mainly because of growing concern over food safety issues and environmental awareness. Haryana, one of the most progressive states of India with paddy and wheat as principal crops, is one of the highest pesticide consuming states in India. In irrigated areas, paddy- wheat rotation is common, and cropping intensity has recently increased further with the introduction of summer paddy in some parts of the state. Thus, monocropping and high cropping intensity have accentuated the pest problems and worsened soil quality, further encouraging the excessive use of the chemical pesticides. Yield losses ranging from 21 to 51 percent have been estimated due to moderate to serious incidence of stem borer, leaf folder, plant hoppers and others sporadic pests in the paddy growing areas of the country (Pasalu et. al., 2003). Visualizing the prime importance of these issues, the present study intends to measure the economic and environmental impact of adoption of IPM practices in paddy cultivation in Haryana. The specific objectives of the study are (1) to examine the extent and factors influencing pesticide use at farm level in paddy cultivation; (2) to measure the impact of adoption of IPM practices in paddy, and (3) to assess the risk avoided on different environmental components due to IPM adoption. Data and Methodology Sampling framework The State Department of Agriculture and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India has been successfully conducting Farmer s Field Schools (FFS) to sensitize and train the farmers on IPM in several crops including paddy. The present study was conducted in Karnal and Kaithal districts of Haryana. These districts were chosen for study because of relatively larger share of paddy in the state. Further, in each district, two top ranking blocks in terms of Paddy area was chosen and from each selected block, two villages were selected, one where FFS had already been conducted and the other where no such programme was ever organized. Finally, ten farmers were chosen from each village to make the total sample size of 80. Hence, the study is based on primary data, collected for the year from a sample of 40 FFS farmers (trained in Farmer s Field School) and 40 NFFS

3 farmers (not attended training in Farmers Field School). The data on socio-economic characteristics of sample farmers, paddy cultivation practices with particular emphasis on plant protection practices, adoption of IPM practices etc, were collected through personal interview method. Besides, secondary data related to toxicity level to different environmental categories (human beings, animals, beneficial insects, birds, and aquatic species) were also collected from published sources for each pesticide used by sample farmers in paddy cultivation. Analytical Approach In order to have better insight into farmers pest management practices in paddy, detailed examination of intensity and composition of pesticide used, sources of information of pesticide use, decision criteria on insecticide application at farm level was done. In order to identify the factors affecting pesticide use at farm level, the Cobb Douglas function was estimated by Ordinary Least Square method. Nine explanatory variables were regressed upon the dependent variable, as expenditure on pesticide (Rs./ha) incurred at farm level in paddy cultivation. The explanatory variables considered in the analysis are farmer s perception of yield loss due to pest problem (percent), average value of pesticide (Rs. per kg of active ingredient), age of the farmer (years), education level of head of household with 0 for illiterate, 1 for primary, 2 for secondary and 3 for higher education, farm size (hectares), farmer s knowledge about pesticide hazards on different components of environment (score), quantity of nitrogen applied in paddy cultivation (Kg per hectare), gross return from paddy cultivation (Rs./ha), dummy for IPM training (yes=1, no=0). The farm level economic impact of IPM was ascertained by comparing parameters like reduction in pesticide use, cost of cultivation, net returns, unit cost of production etc. separately for basmati as well as non-basmati paddy. Besides that, impact of IPM programme on farmer s awareness and knowledge level about effects of pesticide on environment and the extent to which the programme was able to generate awareness amongst NFFS farmers was also examined. A knowledge test 1 was developed to measure the knowledge level of farmers about possible pesticide hazards to human health, animals, birds, fish, air, water, soil, beneficial insects and pesticide residue in food.

4 Pesticide risk to the environment is often related to the amount of active ingredient applied or expenditure incurred on pesticides. However, both these measures are not the best indicators of risk because pesticides differ with respect to their toxicity, mobility and persistence and thus pose different levels of risk to different components of the environment. Most of the studies have focused on valuing the human health effects of pesticide (Rola and Pingali, 1993) and little attention has been given to other environmental categories. Following Cuyno, Norton and Rola (2003), the present study identifies five environmental categories which includes human health (acute and chronic effects), animals, birds, aquatic species, and beneficial insects. Active ingredient of each pesticide was assigned three levels of risk i.e. high, moderate and low for each of the five environmental categories. These risk levels were rated on a scale from one to five with one having a minimal impact on environment or low toxicity and five considered to be highly toxic or having a major negative effect on the environment. Information regarding hazard rating as well as toxicity database for each pesticide was obtained from data bases such as EXTOXNET, Pesticide Manual and previous studies. Both toxicity and exposure potential criteria were considered in arriving at the assigned risk for each pesticide used in paddy production in the study area. A brief summary of these criteria was presented in Appendix I. These criteria make use of the current state of knowledge with respect to data that indicate pesticide risk to individual environment category. After the data on individuals risk level associated with each environment category was collected, pesticides were grouped by classes (insecticide, fungicide and herbicide) and score assigned to each pesticide active ingredient were combined with usage data to arrive at an overall ecorating for each pesticide. An overall eco-rating score was then calculated separately for FFS and NFFS categories of farmers. The difference between the two represents the amount of risk avoided due to adoption of IPM practices. The formula for eco-rating can be expressed as ESij = (ISj) x (AIi) x (Ratei) Where, ESij is the eco-rating score for active ingredient i and environmental category j, ISj is the pesticide risk score for environmental category j, AIi is the percent active

5 ingredient in the formulation, and Ratei is the application rate per hectare of ith active ingredient. Results and Discussion Intensity and Composition of Pesticide Use The results showed that average pesticide use on sample farms was estimated to be 2.32 kg per ha which costs of Rs.1932 per hectare to the farmer (Table 1). On an average, crop was treated four times with pesticide, one application each of herbicide and fungicide and two applications of insecticide. Insecticide and herbicide constitute the bulk of pesticide used in paddy cultivation, however, the intensity of insecticide use was found higher in basmati paddy as compared to that of non basmati paddy. This may be due to the fact that none of the existing improved basmati varieties are resistant to major insects and diseases prevalent in the region. Another reason may be farmers risk aversion as basmati paddy has assumed a status of important cash crop in the region, fetching premium price in domestic as well as export markets. Hence, farmers do not want any kind of yield risk. The quantity of fungicide was found meager (0.082 kg per hectare) as farmers mainly use for seed treatment. Among major insecticides used on sample farms include the Organochlorine- Endosulfan; Organophosphates such as Monocrotophos, Chlorpyriphos, Phorate, Diclorvos; and Pyrethroids such as lamdacyhalothrim and Cypermethrin etc. All of these insecticides are classified as highly hazardous to moderately hazardous (Category I and II) according to the WHO classification. The principal herbicides used were Butachlor, Anilofos and Pretilachlor. These chemicals are classified as moderately hazardous (category II) and unlikely to pose acute hazard in normal use (Category U). Carbendazim, Streptocyclin, and Propiconazole, major fungicides used in study area, falls either under Category II or U. Farmers access pest management information in a variety of ways. Development of any outreach programme can therefore, benefit from understanding which method is most commonly used by farmers. It can be inferred from Table 2 that farmers information on pesticide use is mainly influenced by extension personnel of the State Department of Agriculture (84 percent) and State Agricultural University (58 per cent).

6 However, private pesticide dealers (49 per cent) were next in importance. Fellow farmers and media were reported to be least important sources to farmers in this regard. The most important criteria followed by sample farmers to initiate insecticide application in Paddy are farmers own determination of the pest infestation levels (Table 2). However, only 24 percent were consulting with extension personnel to know about infestation level before going for insecticide application. This criterion is considered to be the closest to the economic threshold level. However, still one third of the farmers regard insecticide application as standard practice or as calendar basis. Table 1: Pesticide use in Paddy in Haryana State Particulars Non basmati Basmati Overall Insecticide Quantity (Kg. a.i. / ha) No. of application Cost (Rs./ha) Herbicide Quantity (Kg. a.i. / ha) No. of application Cost (Rs./ha) Fungicide Quantity (Kg. a.i. / ha) No. of application Cost (Rs./ha) Total pesticide Quantity (Kg. a.i. / ha) No. of application Cost (Rs./ha)

7 Table 2: Sources of Information and Decision Criteria on Pesticide Use Particulars Farmers (%) Sources of information on pesticide use State Department of Agriculture 84 State Agricultural University 58 Private pesticide dealers 49 Fellow farmers/ TV/ Radio/ Newspaper 38 Decision Criteria of the Farmers for Application of Insecticide Farmers own determination of the pest infestation level 82 Standard practice or history of insect problems 34 Consultation with extension personnel for infestation thresholds 24 Local information (other farmers, Radio, TV etc.) 21 Determinants of pesticide use The determinants of expenditure incurred on pesticides in paddy cultivation at farm level were hypothesized to depend on incentives gained from pesticide use, farmer s characteristics, and production technology and its management. Farmer s characteristics (age, education, farmer s knowledge about pesticide hazards and training on IPM) were expected to influence the quality of farmers judgment about pesticide usage. Farm size was included to account for size bias. Average price of pesticide also denote quality of pesticide. The intensity of pest infestation and hence the pesticide use is often influenced by the quantity and type of fertilizer used in crop production. Experimental evidence indicates that application of high doses of nitrogen produces favorable micro- climate for pest multiplication. Thus, per ha use of nitrogen is included as one of the determinants of pesticide use in the regression model. Table 3 presents the regression estimates, indicating that explanatory variables account for 29 percent of the variation in the model. The average price of pesticide (proxy for quality of pesticide) had turn out to be positively and significantly affecting total expenditure on pesticide in paddy.

8 Table 3: Estimated Parameters for Pesticide Cost of Paddy Production in Haryana Independent variables Coefficients Intercept (1.344) Farmer s perception on yield loss (0.127) Average pesticide price 0.561*** (0.167) Age (0.245) Education (0.157) Farm size (0.078) Knowledge score (0.183) Quantity of nitrogen 0.592*** (0.202) Gross return 0.752*** (0.244) Dummy for IPM Training ** (0.006) Adjusted R *** and ** denotes significant at 1% and 5% level Figure in parentheses are the standard error As expected, the regression coefficient of quantity of nitrogen showed positive and significantly influencing pesticide expenditure. The coefficient of gross return from paddy had turned out to be positive and significant clearly indicating that farmers are risk averse. IPM training seemed to have influenced farmer s awareness about negative externalities of pesticide and decision making ability about judicious use of pesticide and hence turned out to negative and significant. These findings indicate that farmers are mainly risk averse as paddy is one of the major commercial crops of the region. Better crop management practices such as optimum nitrogen application and formal training on IPM can reduce pesticide use. Impact of IPM Technology IPM technology for pest management is a multi-pronged approach, which encompasses a compatible use of the available methods and techniques of pest control based on cultural, mechanical, biological and chemical methods. The efficiency of IPM

9 would vary depending upon which components / practices farmers actually employ. Therefore, ascertaining the extent of adoption of IPM technology by FFS farmers is crucial. The results suggest that among FFS farmers, various cultural practices had widespread adoption as against very low adoption of biological practices (Table 4). In cultural practices, more than two-third farmers were practicing timely paddy transplanting recommended plant spacing and deep summer ploughing, destruction of crop residue etc. However, clipping off seedlings was least adopted practice among FFS farmers. Among the mechanical practices, pheromone traps was adopted by only four per cent of farmers mainly because of farmers poor knowledge about its use and nonavailability of pest specific lures. Similarly, farmers also complained about difficulty in using light traps due to short life of bulbs as well as its non-repairability. Trichogramma was the major bio-agents used in paddy IPM, but its adoption on sample FFS farmers was found abysmally low. Table 4: Components of IPM technology adopted by FFS farmers in Paddy Particulars Farmers (%) A. Cultural Practices 1. Deep summer ploughing, trimming of bunds and destruction of crop residues 2. Use of resistant / tolerant varieties Timely planting Recommended plant spacing Avoiding excess nitrogen application Clipping off seedling 17 B. Mechanical practices 1. Use of sex pheromone traps 4 2. Use of light traps Rope shaking 21 C. Biological control 1. Release of Trichogramma Use of Neem product / Neem based pesticides 24 D. Chemical control 1. Use of pesticides on the basis of Economic Threshold Level (ETL) 70 28

10 A major problem reported for its low adoption was its slow action against target pest, lack of availability, short shelf-life and survival of these bio- agents on farmer s field. Similarly use of Neem pesticide was also found very low (24 per cent) mainly because of slow action and lack of availability at local pesticide dealers. Only 28 percent FFS farmers reported using pesticides on the basis of economic threshold levels of pest infestation. It would be worthwhile to mention here that majority of FFS farmers have little experience with IPM, hence any inferences drawn about impact of IPM must keep this issue in mind. The farm level effects of various IPM practices on paddy cultivation by FFS and NFFS farmers are given in table 5. The incremental net return due to adoption of IPM was estimated as Rs and Rs per hectare in case of non-basmati and basmati paddy respectively on sample farms. Mean yield of non- basmati and basmati paddy was found higher on FFS farms than on NFFS farms. These observations give further credence to several other studies that IPM has economic potential too. The cost per unit of output under both the technological option is also an indicator of economic efficiency. The cost of pest control and cost of production of non-basmati on FFS farms were estimated percent and 6.17 percent less than that of NFFS farms (Table 6). These differences are also statistically significant. Contrary to what one might have hypothesized, per ha pesticide cost and per quintal cost of pest control of basmati paddy was estimated to be less on NFFS farmers as compared to FFS farmers. This result is consistent with the fact that farmers attempt to maximize profits rather than minimize cost. This fact is further proved true by seeing higher incremental net returns and lower cost of production of basmati paddy on FFS farms. Table 5: Comparative Economics of NFFS and FSS in Paddy Crop in Haryana. (Rs. Per ha) Particulars Non basmati Basmati NFFS FFS NFFS FFS Field preparation (deep summer ploughing, field sanitation, bund raising) Seed Nursery raising and transplanting Manure and fertilizers

11 Irrigation Chemical pesticides Neem pesticides/products Expenditure On Other IPM Input And Practices (Pheromone Traps, Light Traps, Rope Shaking, Trichogramma etc) Manual weeding Harvesting/ threshing Interest on 12% capital Total cost of cultivation Yield (Qtls. per ha.) Gross return (Rs./ ha) Net return (Rs./ ha) Incremental net return Note: Cost of human labour is included in all the operations Table 6: Cost of pest control and cost of production of NFFS and FFS farmer of paddy (Rs./ qtls) Particulars Cost of pest control Cost of production Non basmati NFFS FFS Mean difference -4.71*** (-13.96) * (-6.17) Basmati NFFS FFS Mean difference 5.95 NS (7.59) NS (-4.21) ***, * and NS denotes 1 per cent and 10 per cent level of Significance and Non-significant, respectively. Figures in parentheses denotes per cent change over NFFS The knowledge and awareness of the farmers about different dimensions of environmental concerns with respect to the use of pesticides in agriculture is presented in Table 7. The composite knowledge score of FFS farmers was found consistently higher than that of NFFS farmers. It can also be inferred from the table that on the dimensions of human health, air quality, and harm to beneficial insects, the awareness is extremely high on both the categories of farmers.

12 Table 7: Knowledge level of FFS and NFFS farmers on pesticide hazards Particulars NFFS (%) FFS (%) Do not Little know Very well Average Score Do not Little know Very well Average score know know know know Human health Animals health Bird Air quality Water quality Soil Harm to beneficial insects Pesticide residue in food Table 8 shows the extent of awareness about IPM programme amongst the NFFS farmers. The results reveal that about one-third of NFFS farmer were already aware about the IPM programme and two third of these, expressed their willingness to know more about the IPM / attend the training. Their main source of information about IPM was extension personnel. Table 8: Awareness about IPM programme among NFFS farmers Particulars Farmers (%) Aware about IPM programme Source of Information about IPM 1. Extension personnel 2. Others Interested to attend training / know more about IPM Environmental Impact of IPM The risk scores for most commonly used pesticides in the study region for each environment category i.e. human beings, animals, birds, aquatic and beneficial insects is

13 presented in Table 9. Higher values indicate high risk associated with respective pesticide. Table 9: Risk Score for paddy pesticide applied in the study area Name of pesticides Risk Scores Human Animals Birds Aquatic Beneficial Cartap Phorate Endosulfan Monocrotophos Diclorvos Cholorpyriphos Lindane Lambdacyhalothrim Carbandazim Propiconazole Tricyclazole Butaclore Anilofos Pretilachlor The scores assigned to each pesticide active ingredient were combined with usage data to arrive at an overall ecological rating for each pesticide. These estimates are presented in Table 10 by each category of pesticide. These results show higher aggregate eco- ratings for each environment category on NFFS farms as compared to FFS farms. It shows that eco-ratings were reduced from 20 to 30 percent as a result of adoption of IPM practices by FFS farmers as compared to NFFS farmers in each paddy growing season. These reductions represent the percent pesticide risk avoided due to reduced pesticide application as well as judicious selection of pesticides in paddy cultivation. Table 10: Environmental risk associated with pesticide use in paddy by NFFS and FFS farmers Category Types of pesticide Eco-ratings Aggregate % risk NFFS FFS avoided to each farmers farmers environment category Human beings Animals Herbicide Insecticide Fungicide Herbicide Insecticide

14 Birds Aquatic species Beneficial insects Fungicide Herbicide Insecticide Fungicide Herbicide Insecticide Fungicide Herbicide Insecticide Fungicide Summing up The results clearly shows that even partial adoption of different IPM practices in paddy has resulted into higher net return and reduced unit cost of production in both basmati and non-basmati paddy on FFS farms as compared to non FFS farms. The expenditure on pesticide use was observed to be influenced by pesticide price, IPM training in Farmers Field Schools and better crop management, practices like avoiding excess nitrogen application. However, there is lack of information and expertise about different IPM practices even among FFS farmers. It has also been found that use of technology even at this level, has potential of avoiding pesticide risk hazards to different environment categories by percent. On the other hand, paddy growers being risk averse; despite of having good knowledge of pesticide related hazards to the environment, they still rely mostly on pesticides. Hence, developing farmers own capacity by imparting information, knowledge and skill through in-depth and intensive training as well as awareness programmes would go a long way in enhancing IPM adoption. Note: 1 The knowledge test consists of nine questions related to above mentioned aspects and administered separately on FFS and NFFS farmers.two score was given if they knew well, one score if they knew little and zero score, if they did not know at all thus, the maximum score one could get was 18 and minimum was zero.

15 References Antle, J. M. and P. L. Pingali (1994), Pesticides, Productivity, and Farmer Health: A Filipino Case Study. American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 76: Birthal, P.S., O.P. Sharma and Sant Kumar (2000), Economics of Integrated Pest Management: Evidences and Issues, Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 55(4): Cuyno, Leach C.M., George W. Norton and Agenes Rola (2001), Economic Analysis of Environmental Benefits of Integrated Pest Management: A Philippine Case Study, Agricultural Economics, 25(2001): EXTOXNET, [Multi-university computer network providing toxicity related electronic data; data base available on Oregon state server.] online available at Gandhi P. Vasant and N.T. Patel (1997), Pesticide and the Environment: A Comparative study of Farmer Awareness and Behaviour in Andhra Pradesh, Panjab and Gujarat, Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 52 (3): Higley, L. G. And W. K. Wintersteen (1992), A Novel Approach to Environmental Risk Assessment of Pesticides as a Basis for Incorporating Environmental Costs into Economic Injury Level. American Entomologist. 38: Mullen, D. Jeffery, George W. Norton, and Dixie W. Reaves (1997), Economic Analysis of Environmental Benefits of Integrated Pest Management, Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 29(2): Owens, N. N., S. M. Swinton, and E. O. Van Ravenswaay (1997), Farmer Demand for Safer Corn Herbicides: Survey Methods and Descriptive Results. Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, Michigan State University. Research Report 547, East Lansing, MI. Passalu, I.C., B. Mishra, N.V. Krishnaiah and Gururaj Katti (2003), Integrated Pest Management in Indian Agriculture, Proceeding No. 11, National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (NCAP), New Delhi and National Centre for Integrated Pest Management (NCIPM), New Delhi. Rola, A. C. and P. L. Pingali (1993), Pesticides, Rice Productivity, and Farmers Health: An Economic Assessment, International Rice Research Institute, The Philippines and World Resources Institute, Washington DC. Rola, Agens C., and David A. Widawsky (1996), Paper presented during the International Conference on the Impact of Rice Research, Bangkok, June 3-5, The Pesticide Manual, Edited by Clive Tomlin, Tenth Edition, Crop Protection Publications, Farnhan.

16 Appendix I: Pesticide Impact Scoring System Environmental categories Human Health 1.Toxicity Acute Toxicity Chronic toxicity Indicators Pesticide Class (WHO Criteria) Signal Word (EPA Criteria) Weight of Evidence of chronic effects Score High Risk = 5 Moderate risk = 3 Low risk = 1 Ia; Ib Danger / Poison Conclusive Evidence II Warning Probable Evidence 2. Exposure Leaching potential Leaching potential score High Moderate Low Runoff potential Soil half life High Moderate Low III Caution Inconclusive Evidence 3. Food residues Systemicity - Systemic, postemergent Plant surface residues half Life > 4 weeks 2-4 weeks 1-2 weeks Aquatic Species 1. Toxicity 95 hr LC50 (fish) mg/l >10 ppm 1-10 ppm <1 ppm Non-systemic, Pre-emergent Fish / other aquatic Species Toxicity 2. Exposure Runoff Potential Score High Moderate Low Beneficial Insects 1. Toxicity Insect Toxicity Ratings Extreme / High Moderate Low 2. Exposure Plant Surface Residue Half life > 4 weeks 2-4 weeks 1-2 weeks Mammalian Farm For animals and human beings, same Animals level of risk has been assumed. Birds 1.Toxicity Birds Toxicity Ratings High/Extreme Moderate Low 8 days LC ppm ppm > 1000 ppm 2. Exposure Plant Surface Half- life >4 weeks 2-4 weeks 1-2 weeks

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