Socio- economic issues in pesticide use: an analysis in bittergourd

Abstract

The present study on the " Socio-economic Issues on pestici~e use: An analysis in bittergourd" was conducted to study the economics, analyse pattern of pesticide use and examine the socio economic issues in use of pesticides in bitter gourd. The study was taken up in Palakkad and Thrissur districts where bittergourd cultivation is taken up on a commercial scale. From the districts, Nemmara and Pazhayannur panchayats were selected for the study. The total cost of cultivation per hectare at C3 level in bittergourd cultivation was' found to be RS.l 09240 in Nemmara and RS.l 0690 1 in Pazhayannur. The benefit cost ratio was found to be 1.63 in Nemmara and 1.61 in Pazhayannur. Among the inputs, labour charges constituted the major share followed by manures. Among the . different operations, manuring and fertilizer application occupied the lion's share. The pesticide usage in the study area was found to be indiscriminate and the usage of plant protection chemicals was found to increase with an increase in holding size. The respondents in Pazhayannur were resorting more on non-chemical methods of pest control. The yield and returns per hectare was found to be 22190 kg and Rs. 177520 in Nemmara and 21551 kg and Rs. 172408 in Pazhayannur . .. In the analysis of gross income function, area, PPC, and orgamc manure was found to be significantly influencing the gross income. The factors influencing the pesticide. expenditure wer~ analyzed and the• study showed that area, . . "fertilizer and income was found to have significant influence on pesticide expenditure. In the estimation of technical efficiency using maximum likelihood estimates, plant protection chemicals and human labour were found to be significant. The mean technical efficiency in bittergourd production was found to be higher in Pazhayannur (0.84) as compared to Nemmara (0.79). •

In the analysis of the factors influencing the overuse of pesticides, the gross income was found to have significant influence on the overuse of pesticides. Consumer survey revealed that 82.5 per cent of consumers were aware of the pesticide residues and the Willingness To Pay Premium (WTPP) was found to be Rs.4.21 per kilogram of bitter gourd. The major constraints in the organic production of bittergourd was the lack of proper markets for selling organically produced bittergourd, non-uniformity in the cultivation practices in an area and small size of the produce obtained though organic cultivation.