POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM

THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM

THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Nguyen Huu Dung

Environment Economics Unit

University of Economics-HCMC

OBJECTIVESOBJECTIVESOBJECTIVESOBJECTIVES

• Pesticide use on rice crop• The awareness level of pesticide

applicators, their knowledge and perceptions of risks, attitudes towards pesticide use

• Pesticide use on rice crop• The awareness level of pesticide

applicators, their knowledge and perceptions of risks, attitudes towards pesticide use

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

METHODOLOGYMETHODOLOGY

Sample selection criteriaSample selection criteria

• a. According to information from the poverty a. According to information from the poverty map of the World Bank,map of the World Bank,

• b. Province, district, and communes where b. Province, district, and communes where rice production is dominant, rice production is dominant,

• c. A geographical distribution of the study c. A geographical distribution of the study sites (i.e. not very close together),sites (i.e. not very close together),

• d. Selected sites are not located inside a city d. Selected sites are not located inside a city or center of the district (since the poor may or center of the district (since the poor may not be the farmers, e.g. jobless people in the not be the farmers, e.g. jobless people in the city or town).city or town).

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

METHODOLOGY (Continue)METHODOLOGY (Continue)

At the commune levelAt the commune level

To identify poor and non-poor To identify poor and non-poor communes, the survey selects the communes, the survey selects the commune which is +/- one standard commune which is +/- one standard deviation from the mean in terms of deviation from the mean in terms of the number and percentage of poor the number and percentage of poor

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Communes surveyedCommunes surveyed

District Communes Province COM.CODE % Poor*

An Phu Vinh Hau An Giang 1 55

Chau Thanh Binh Hoa An Giang 2 35

Vi Thanh Vi Tan Hau Giang 3 45

Thot Not Thanh Thang Can Tho 4 26

Tan Thanh Nhon Hoa lap Long An 5 46

Thu Thua Nhi Thanh Long An 6 19

Cai Lay My Thanh Nam Tien Giang 7 36

Cho Gao Thanh Binh Tien Giang 8 20

Tra Cu An Quang Huu Tra Vinh 9 49

Tieu Can Ngai Hung Tra Vinh 10 33

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

STUDY SITEsSTUDY SITEs

1. Vinh Hau2. Binh Hoa3. Vi Tan4. Thanh Thang5. Nhon Hoa Lap6. Nhi Thanh7. My Thanh Nam8. Thanh Binh9. An Quang Huu10. Ngai Hung

1

2

3

4

65

78

910

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Survey findingsSurvey findings

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Household characteristicsHousehold characteristics Income of Farmer’s GroupsIncome of Farmer’s Groups Income groups (million VND)

No of farms

% No of farms Total farmincome

Per Capitaincome

< =1.2 79 13.1 4,802,070 847,850

>1.2 <= 2.4 152 25.2 9,938,488 1,842,349

>2.4 <= 3.6 134 22.2 14,893,881 3,015,357

> 3.6 <= 4.8 80 13.3 19,618,588 4,144,690

>4,8 <= 6.0 61 10.1 24,214,328 5,276,810

> 6.0 97 16.1 41,898,270 9,509,439

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Charcteristics of farm householdsCharcteristics of farm households

Income groups (million VND)

Farm size(Ha)

Housing land (m2)

Family members

Main labors

Dependents

< =1.2 .84 275 6 3 2

>1.2 <= 2.4 1.11 344 5 2 2

>2.4 <= 3.6 1.37 378 5 2 2

> 3.6 <= 4.8 1.57 387 5 2 2

>4,8 <= 6.0 1.71 398 5 2 1

> 6.0 2.45 490 5 2 1

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Farmer’s Assessment on the Value of Farmer’s Assessment on the Value of

their Residential Housestheir Residential Houses

Income groups No of farms

Mean Maximum

Minimum

< =1.2 77 18,476,623 100,000,000 600,000

>1.2 <= 2.4 148 25,664,865

130,000,0001,000,000

>2.4 <= 3.6 128 37,422,656

200,000,0001,000,000

> 3.6 <= 4.8 78 41,487,179

200,000,0001,000,000

>4,8 <= 6.0 61 45,483,115

150,000,000170,000

> 6.0 95 68,184,211

250,000,0002,000,000

Group Total N= 587 38,329,080 250,000,000 170,000

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Access to Formal Credit Market of Farm Access to Formal Credit Market of Farm

HouseholdsHouseholds

Income groups No. of Farms

Amount (VND) Loan duration (months)

Interest(%/month)

< =1.2 34 5,991,176 10 1.04

>1.2 <= 2.4 80 7,911,250 13 .96

>2.4 <= 3.6 61 10,901,639 11 .97

> 3.6 <= 4.8 37 9,851,351 16 1.13

>4,8 <= 6.0 30 11,983,333 10 1.01

> 6.0 43 19,244,186 14 .99

Group total 285 10,712,632 12 1.00

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Pesticide use practicesPesticide use practices

Farmers' Behavior in Buying Pesticides Farmers' Behavior in Buying Pesticides

(percentage of farmers) N=603(percentage of farmers) N=603 Income groups The same

brandsChange regularly Change

sometimes

1 50.6 21.5 27.8

2 33.6 30.9 35.5

3 33.6 35.1 31.3

4 27.5 43.8 28.8

5 39.3 31.1 29.5

6 29.9 32.0 38.1

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Spraying Pesticides of the Respondents Spraying Pesticides of the Respondents (%)(%)

Income groups

Insecticides Fungicides Herbicides Others

1 92.34 92.34 92.34 92.34

2 90.13 90.39 90.66 91.05

3 85.90 86.04 86.04 86.42

4 88.00 88.00 86.75 88.00

5 77.79 77.79 77.79 77.79

6 75.31 75.52 75.62 74.79

Group Total 85.56 85.70 85.61 85.83

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Variations of Pesticide Doses Applied in Variations of Pesticide Doses Applied in

Different Rice SeasonsDifferent Rice Seasons Increase/decrease doses Frequency Percent Cumulative

Percent

1. Increased 173 28.7 28.7

2. Decreased 100 16.6 45.3

3. The same 279 46.3 91.5

4. Increased in one season, but decreased in the other

51 8.5 100.0

Total 603 100.0

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Methods of Payment of Purchasing Methods of Payment of Purchasing PesticidesPesticides

Income groups

Cash immediately

Later at an agreed date

After harvesting

Others

1 22.15 1.77 76.08 .00

2 23.22 5.00 71.45 .33

3 28.13 4.63 67.24 .02

4 32.38 7.13 60.50 .00

5 38.20 8.20 53.61 .00

6 41.34 4.38 54.28 .00

Group Total 29.82 5.00 65.10 .09

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Knowledge/Training on pesticide useKnowledge/Training on pesticide use Accessing to Pesticide Use Training of the Accessing to Pesticide Use Training of the

RespondentsRespondents

Farmers’ Response

Formal training in IPM

Basic training on safe handling & applying pesticide

Access someone to receive trainings

Count % Count % Count %

Yes 312 51.7 202 33.5 214 35.5

No 291 48.3 401 66.5 389 64.5

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Formal Training in IPM of the Formal Training in IPM of the RespondentsRespondents

Income groups Receiving formal training in IPM (% of farmers)

Yes (use) No (use)

1 36.7 63.3

2 50.0 50.0

3 54.5 45.5

4 46.3 53.8

5 63.9 36.1

6 59.8 40.2

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Farmer’ Perception on the Risk of Farmer’ Perception on the Risk of

Exposure to PesticidesExposure to Pesticides

Pesticide risk scale Income groups

1 2 3 4 5 6

No risk at all 13.9 17.8 18.7 25.0 21.3 22.7

Some small risk 27.8 28.3 32.1 26.3 34.4 36.1

A small amount of risk 25.3 29.6 23.9 30.0 24.6 22.7

A large & significantamount of risk

15.2 13.8 14.9 10.0 9.8 12.4

Dangerous & very toxic

15.2 9.9 7.5 7.5 9.8 6.2

Do not know 2.5 .7 3.0 1.3 0.0 0.0

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Using Protecting Equipment during Using Protecting Equipment during

Pesticide ApplicationPesticide Application IncomeGroups

Percentage of farmers using protecting equipment

Shoes Hat/head cover

Glasses Mask Full Sleeve shirt

Full length trousers

Gloves

1 1.3 49.4 10.1 58.2 96.2 94.9 12.7

2 2.6 48.0 19.7 62.5 96.7 96.1 14.5

3 3.0 49.3 21.6 61.9 96.3 93.3 17.9

4 2.5 53.8 20.0 70.0 95.0 97.5 20.0

5 1.6 52.5 29.5 65.6 96.7 95.1 19.7

6 3.1 49.5 20.6 63.9 97.9 95.9 24.7

Total 2.5 49.9 20.1 63.3 96.5 95.4 17.9

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Social feedbackSocial feedback Farmers’ Judgment on the Use of Farmers’ Judgment on the Use of Pesticides not be Legally Used in Pesticides not be Legally Used in

VietnamVietnam Income groups Percentage of farmers

Yes No

1.00 35.2 64.8

2.00 39.5 60.5

3.00 33.3 66.7

4.00 45.7 54.3

5.00 62.5 37.5

Total 38.8 61.2

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

The Criterion When Buying Pesticides (% of The Criterion When Buying Pesticides (% of

farmers)farmers)

Criterion Very important

Important Not so important

Prices of pesticides 23.9 38.3 37.8

Efficiency of pesticides to controlling pest 84.6 14.6 0.8

The easiness to manipulate 18.4 52.4 29.2

The quality of the explanation of how to use 59.9 34.7 5.5

The legality of use in Vietnam 35.2 53.9 10.9

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Assessment of Farmers on Types of Assessment of Farmers on Types of

Pollution due to Pesticide UsePollution due to Pesticide Use

Types of pollution Farmers' answering

Heard, known, seen

Do not know

Water pollution No. farmers 370 233

% farmers 61.4 38.6

Air pollution No. farmers 274 329

% farmers 45.4 54.6

Death of bird, animals,…

No. farmers 164 439

% farmers 27.2 72.8

POVERTY AND PESTICIDE USE IN VIETNAM - THE CASE OF FARMERS IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MEKONG DELTA VIETNAM

Conclusion & RecommendationConclusion & Recommendation The poor are poor endowment in terms of land, value of house, accessing to formal credit market, but with many family members

The poor more exposure to pesticides than non-poor

Non-poor farmers are likely change the brand of pesticide more often

Pesticide doses applied in the rice fields are not the same between seasons

No difference in accessing to basic training on safe handling & spraying pesticide between the poor and non-poor, but in formal training in IPM

The poor are more awareness of risk of exposure to pesticide

Pesticides not be legally used in Vietnam are still prevalent

The poor concern about prices of pesticide while non-poor pay more attention on efficiency to controlling pest

Water pollution is the most reported problem resulting from using pesticide.