Value of Avoiding Health Risks Due to Insecticide Exposure
Attributes
Medium: Health and/or Human Capital
Country: Vietnam
Analytical Framework(s): Contingent Valuation
Unit(s): Mean WTP and Consumer Surplus Values
Study Date: 1996
Publication Date: 1999
Major Result(s)
| Resource/Environmental Good | VND (1996) |
VND (2014)1 |
USD (2014)2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WTP to avoid illness due to insecticide exposure | 250,000.00 | 556,215.00 | 26.04 |
| Consumer surplus per kilogram of safe tomatoes in the organic market | 4,500.00 | 10,011.87 | 0.47 |
| Consumer surplus per kilogram of safe cabbage in the organic market | 2,200.00 | 4,894.69 | 0.23 |
| Consumer surplus per kilogram of safe tomatoes in the ordinary market | 3,000.00 | 6,674.58 | 0.31 |
| Consumer surplus per kilogram of safe cabbage in the ordinary market | 2,000.00 | 4,449.72 | 0.21 |
About the Inflation Adjustment: Prices in Vietnam (VND) changed by 122.49% from 1996 to 2014 (aggregated from annual CPI data), so the study values were multiplied by 2.22 to express them in 2014 prices. The study values could be expressed in any desired year (for example, to 2026) by following the same inflation calculation and being sensitive to directional (forward/backward) aggregations using your own CPI/inflation data.
Study Note: The authors stressed the need for long-term basic research on nutrient management and cropping patterns, as well as their impact on soil nutrient content. This study was directed to produce information which could be inputted into policy research work that will serve as basis to initiate policy reforms.
Study Details
Summary: Since agrochemical fertilizers, especially the inorganic ones, are low-cost yet give increased returns to farmers, their use is quite exploited in developing countries such as Vietnam. It has been reported recently that farmers in Vietnam tend to overuse nitrogen fertilizers, particularly urea. However, such a heavy use of urea is not sustainable in the long-run. Moreover, too much nitrogen enhances plant growth making it viable to more insect pests, and would thus promote an increase in pesticide use. Pesticide use has also been prevalent in Vietnam, resulting to a number of various reported pesticide poisoning cases among the farmers as well as among consumers of contaminated farm produce. As such, this study measured the extent of imbalance in the use of inorganic fertilizers in Vietnam, as well as the health effects of pesticide use on the producers and consumers, for better formulation of policy decisions in promoting sustainable agriculture, as well as for better quality of life in rural Vietnam. Both primary and secondary data were used to investigate the overuse of nitrogen by rice and vegetables farmers in Vietnam leading to the use of wrong fertilizer mix, and to test whether or not high pesticide use leads to infrequent exposure by producers thus posing health risks, as well as whether or not high pesticide residues in vegetables also put consumers at risk. A literature review was undertaken to test whether the high amount of nitrogen causes high population of brown plant hopper and other pests in rice and vegetables. Results showed that generally, Vietnamese farmers overuse nitrogen and underuse potassium and phosphorus, yielding to non-optimal yields and profits; in general farmers overuse insecticides during the spring season; and insecticides posed significant health risks to both producers and consumers of rice and vegetable products. Balanced use of fertilizer is recommended, as well as proper education on responsible pest management.
Site Characteristics: The study was done in rural farm lands in Vietnam, which is considered as a less-developed country. As such, fertilizer use through time is increasing at a general rate of 4.5%, in contrast to developed countries whose fertilizer use recorded a reduction of 10.8% in total consumption. Fertilizer use in Vietnam increased from about 172,000 tons per year in nutrient terms during 1980-1981, to 428,000 tons per year during 1984-1986, to approximately 500,000 tons per year in 1989-1990, though average fertilizer consumption per hectare is not high according to East-Asian standards and by the extent of irrigation in the country. The fertilizer market is unpredictable, having as much as 90% of urea used. Moreover, the fertilizer industry is a low- and long-return one. Pesticide use in Vietnam has a steady increasing rate. A host of policy instruments addressing pesticide use and its corresponding health effects exist in Vietnam, though proper implementation is still not assured, as expected in less-developed countries.
Comments: An extensive literature review on the intricacies of fertilizer and pesticide use accompanied the study. Study methodology adequately incorporated biases and various considerations into the analyses performed.