EcoLaVerna Integral Restoration Ecology, Bridestown, Kildinan, Co., Cork, Ireland.
University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia.
Environ Manage. 2020 Jun;65(6):787-803. doi: 10.1007/s00267-020-01272-x. Epub 2020 Feb 27.
Since the beginning of the millennium, pesticide use has increased dramatically across Asia. However, it is still unclear what drives pesticide use among low-income farmers. We surveyed 275 farmers to investigate their decisions to apply or avoid pesticides on rice farms in southern Sri Lanka. Based on the information from the survey, we applied the Drivers-Pressures-State-Impacts-Responses framework to assess farmers' decisions as 'Responses' to changes in the rice ecosystem. Organic farmers mainly planted traditional varieties (64-77%) that they perceived as resistant to environmental stresses, including insect herbivores. Pesticide users, including integrated pest management farmers, and insecticide-free farmers (without insecticide use for ≥5 years) mainly planted modern rice varieties. There were no significant differences in reported rice yields among farmers using different management practices. However, fewer organic and insecticide-free farmers reported insect pests, particularly planthoppers, as a production constraint. Insecticide use by farmers was mainly an adaptive response to perceived risks of pest damage to high-yielding varieties. But farmers' responses were largely unsupported by any previous experience, suggesting that an increased availability and marketing of agrochemicals, and pressures to modernize production have influenced their decisions to use insecticides. Organic and insecticide-free farming practices were mainly restorative responses to perceived health risks associated with agrochemicals. We suggest that attention could be placed on promoting 'pesticide-free' or 'insecticide-free' farming through certification schemes as a viable option to break the lock-in of pesticide use on rice farms in the region and to provide additional product choices for rice consumers.
自本世纪初以来，亚洲的农药使用量大幅增加。然而，低收入农民使用农药的原因仍不清楚。我们调查了 275 名农民，以了解他们在斯里兰卡南部的水稻田中使用或避免使用农药的决定。根据调查信息，我们应用驱动力-压力-状态-影响-反应框架来评估农民的决策，即将水稻生态系统的变化视为“反应”。有机农民主要种植传统品种（64-77%），他们认为这些品种对环境压力（包括昆虫草食动物）有抗性。使用农药的农民，包括综合虫害管理农民和 5 年以上不使用杀虫剂的农民（不使用杀虫剂），主要种植现代水稻品种。采用不同管理方法的农民报告的水稻产量没有显著差异。然而，较少的有机和无杀虫剂农民报告昆虫（特别是稻飞虱）是生产的限制因素。农民使用杀虫剂主要是对高产品种虫害风险的适应性反应。但是，农民的反应在很大程度上没有得到任何先前经验的支持，这表明农药供应和营销的增加以及生产现代化的压力影响了他们使用杀虫剂的决定。有机和无杀虫剂的农业实践主要是对与农药相关的健康风险的恢复性反应。我们建议，可以通过认证计划关注推广“无农药”或“无杀虫剂”农业，作为打破该地区水稻田农药使用锁定的可行选择，并为水稻消费者提供更多的产品选择。
