PESTICIDES, PRODUCTIVITY, AND FARMER HEALTH - A PHILIPPINE CASE-STUDY

Production data from a farm-level survey were integrated with health data collected from the same population of farmers to measure the impacts of pesticide use on farmer health and the impacts of farmer health on productivity in two rice-producing regions of the Philippines. The relationships were then used in a simulation analysis to investigate the health and productivity tradeoffs implied by a policy to restrict pesticide use. Results show that pesticide use has a negative effect on farmer health, that farmer health has a positive effect on productivity, and that there are likely to be social gains from a reduction in insecticide use in Philippine rice production. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of the findings for pesticide policy in developing countries and for allocation of resources in agricultural research.