Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Review Articles

Early Access

Do farmers overuse pesticides? A critical review from their perspective

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.7376
Submitted
23 January 2025
Published
04-05-2025
Versions

Abstract

Excessive pesticide use by farmers is a critical issue influenced by psychological, behavioural, socioeconomic and regulatory factors. This study employs a bibliometric analysis and systematic review to assess key factors driving excessive pesticide use, focusing on research trends and behavioural influences. A total of 43 peer-reviewed articles from the Scopus database (2000-2024) were selected using PRISMA methodology, based on relevance to psychological and behavioural factors influencing pesticide use. Findings indicate that peer influence, farmers’ risk perceptions, financial constraints and limited awareness of sustainable alternatives like Integrated Pest Management (IPM) contribute significantly to pesticide overuse. Moreover, reliance on chemical pesticides, psychological stress from market uncertainties and risk-averse decision-making further contribute to overuse, highlighting the need for targeted interventions. Bibliometric analysis highlights a fragmented research landscape with limited interdisciplinary collaboration. China emerges as a leading contributor, demonstrating a strong national research focus with a significant number of studies conducted by Chinese researchers and institutions, while other countries show varying levels of cooperative engagement. This study underscores the importance of enhancing farmers’ awareness of non-chemical pest control methods, strengthening regulatory frameworks and fostering community-led initiatives. Future research should prioritise the exploration of education, economic conditions and social norms to better understand their impact on pesticide use behaviours. These insights aim to inform policy and interventions that promote sustainable pest management while balancing agricultural productivity with environmental and public health priorities.

References

  1. 1. FAOSTAT, 2021. Pesticides Use. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/RP/visualize
  2. 2. Fernandes CL, Volcao LM, Ramires PF, De Moura RR, Junior FM. Distribution of pesticides in agricultural and urban soils of Brazil: A critical review. Environ Sci Process Impacts. 2020;22( 2):256–70. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9EM00433E
  3. 3. Bungau S, Behl T, Aleya L, Bourgeade P, Aloui-Sosse B, Purza AL, et al. Expatiating the impact of anthropogenic aspects and climatic factors on long-term soil monitoring and management. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2021;28(24):30528–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14127-7
  4. 4. Zhao L, Wang C, Gu H, Yue C. Do Chinese farmers misuse pesticide intentionally or not? Agric. 2023;13(9):1749. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13091749
  5. 5. Alemu AE, Maertens M, Deckers J, Bauer H, Mathijs E. Impact of supply chain coordination on honey farmers’ income in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Agric Food Econ. 2016;4:1–21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40100-016-0053-x
  6. 6. Lwin OOM, Yabe M, Khai HV. Farmers' perception, knowledge and pesticide usage practices: A case study of tomato production in inlay lake. J Fac Agric. 2012;57(1):327–31. https://doi.org/10.5109/22087
  7. 7. Su X, Shi J, Wang T, Shen Q, Niu W, Xu Z. More income, less pollution? How income expectation affects pesticide application. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(9):5136. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095136
  8. 8. Bhandari G, Zomer P, Atreya K, Mol HG, Yang X, Geissen V. Pesticide residues in Nepalese vegetables and potential health risks. Environ Res. 2019;172:511–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2019.03.002
  9. 9. Li R, Yu Y. Impacts of green production behaviors on the income effect of rice farmers from the perspective of outsourcing services: evidence from the rice region in Northwest China. Agric. 2022;12(10):1682. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12101682
  10. 10. Huang Y, Luo X, Li Z. Substitution or complementarity: why do rice farmers use a mix of biopesticides and chemical pesticides in China? Pest Manag Sci. 2022;78(4):1630–39. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.6781
  11. 11. Mohring N, Finger R, Dalhaus T. Extreme heat reduces insecticide use under real field conditions. Sci Total Environ. 2022;819:152043. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152043
  12. 12. Damalas CA, Koutroubas SD. Farmers’ training on pesticide use is associated with elevated safety behavior. Toxics. 2017;5(3):19. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics5030019
  13. 13. Sulaiman SK, Ibrahim Y, Jeffree MS. Evaluating the perception of farmers towards pesticides and the health effect of pesticides: A cross-sectional study in the oil palm plantations of Papar, Malaysia. Interdiscip Toxicol. 2019;12(1):15–25. https://doi.org/10.2478/intox-2019-0003
  14. 14. Ali MP, Kabir MM, Haque SS, Qin X, Nasrin S, Landis D, et al. Farmer's behavior in pesticide use: insights study from smallholder and intensive agricultural farms in Bangladesh. Sci Total Environ. 2020;747:141160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141160
  15. 15. Wiedemann R, Stamm C, Staudacher P. Participatory knowledge integration to promote safe pesticide use in Uganda. Environ Sci Policy. 2022;128:154–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2021.11.012
  16. 16. Barham BL, Chavas JP, Fitz D, Schechter L. Receptiveness to advice, cognitive ability and technology adoption. J Econ Behav Organ. 2018;149:239–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2017.12.025
  17. 17. Hu H, Cao A, Chen S, Li H. Effects of risk perception of pests and diseases on tea famers’ green control techniques adoption. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(14):8465. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148465
  18. 18. Damalas CA, Abdollahzadeh G. Farmers' use of personal protective equipment during handling of plant protection products: determinants of implementation. Sci Total Environ. 2016;571:730–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.07.042
  19. 19. Xiang W, Gao J. From agricultural green production to farmers’ happiness: A case study of kiwi growers in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(4):2856. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20042856
  20. 20. Alemu AE, Maertens M, Deckers J, Bauer H, Mathijs E. Impact of supply chain coordination on honey farmers’ income in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Agric Food Econ. 2016;4:1–21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40100-016-0053-x
  21. 21. Grillo R, Fraceto LF, Amorim MJ, Scott-Fordsmand JJ, Schoonjans R, Chaudhry Q. Ecotoxicological and regulatory aspects of environmental sustainability of nanopesticides. J Hazard Mater. 2021;404:124148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124148
  22. 22. Walton AL, LePrevost CE, Linnan L, Sanchez-Birkhead A, Mooney K. Benefits, facilitators, barriers and strategies to improve pesticide protective behaviors: insights from farmworkers in North Carolina tobacco fields. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14(7):677. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14070677
  23. 23. Qiao D, Luo L, Chen C, Qiu L, Fu X. How does social learning influence Chinese farmers’ safe pesticide use behavior? An analysis based on a moderated mediation effect. J Clean Prod. 2023;430:139722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139722
  24. 24. Bolfarici SL, Zibaei M, Jahangirpour D. The role of market in motivating farmers to reduce pesticide use: evidence from vegetable farms in Shiraz. Heliyon. 2024;10(15). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e35055
  25. 25. Cheze B, David M, Martinet V. Understanding farmers' reluctance to reduce pesticide use: A choice experiment. Ecol Econ. 2020;167:106349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.06.004
  26. 26. Sadat A, Chakraborty K. Farmers' knowledge, perceptions and practices in jute insect pest management and cultural strategy in the upper Gangetic plains of West Bengal, India. Indian J Agric Res. 2017;51(4):320–26. http://10.0.73.117/ijare.v51i04.8416
  27. 27. Akhtar S, Samad A, Gohar A, Shahid MM, Ishtiaq M, Sarwer A, et al. A knowledge, agricultural practices, health and management survey related to pesticide applications in peach orchards of Swat, Malakand. Pakistan J Agric Res. 2019;33(1):56–62. https://doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjar/2020/33.1.56.62
  28. 28. Otoo J, Musah R, Olita T, Ireland KB, Zerihun A. Knowledge and perception of cereal farmers and extension agents on fungicide use in northern Ghana. Pest Manag Sci. 2024;80(9):4207-15. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.8124
  29. 29. Na H, Yan X, Xing R, Jiang A. The empirical effect of agricultural social services on pesticide inputs. Sci Rep. 2024;14(1):15907. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-67016-7
  30. 30. Wang W, Jin J, He R, Gong H, Tian Y. Farmers’ willingness to pay for health risk reductions of pesticide use in China: A contingent valuation study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(4):625. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040625
  31. 31. Bandanaa J, Bosomtwe A, Danson-Anokye A, Adjei E, Bissah M, Kotey DA. Determinants of pesticides use among tomato farmers in the Bono and Ahafo regions of Ghana. Sci Rep. 2024;14(1):5484. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55169-4
  32. 32. Bakhtawer, Afsheen S. A cross sectional survey of knowledge, attitude and practices related to the use of insecticides among farmers in industrial triangle of Punjab, Pakistan. PloS one. 2021;16(8):e0255454. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255454
  33. 33. Jin J, Wang W, He R, Gong H. Pesticide use and risk perceptions among small-scale farmers in Anqiu County, China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14(1):29. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14010029
  34. 34. Zinyemba C, Archer E, Rother HA. Climate variability, perceptions and political ecology: factors influencing changes in pesticide use over 30 years by Zimbabwean smallholder cotton producers. PloS one. 2018;13(5):e0196901. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196901
  35. 35. Buralli RJ, Ribeiro H, Leao RS, Marques RC, Silva DS, Guimaraes JR. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of the Brazilian family farmers on exposure to pesticides. Saude Soc. 2021;30:e210103. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-12902021210103
  36. 36. Benaboud J, Elachour M, Oujidi J, Chafi A. Farmer’s behaviors toward pesticides use: insight from a field study in Oriental Morocco. Environ Health Toxicol. 2021;36(1). https://doi.org/10.5620/eaht.2021002
  37. 37. Ding X, Lu Q, Li L, Li H, Sarkar A. Measuring the impact of relative deprivation on tea farmers’ pesticide application behavior: the Case of Shaanxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang and Anhui Province, China. Hortic. 2023;9(3):342. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9030342
  38. 38. Sok J, Bakker L, van der Werf W, Bianchi F. Not the average farmer: heterogeneity in Dutch arable farmers’ intentions to reduce pesticide use. Environ Sci Policy. 2024;162:103893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103893
  39. 39. Vatn A, Kvakkestad V, Steiro AL, Hodge I. Pesticide taxes or voluntary action? An analysis of responses among Norwegian grain farmers. J Environ Manag. 2020;276:111074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111074
  40. 40. Udimal TB, Peng Z, Cao C, Luo M, Liu Y, Mensah NO. Compliance with pesticides' use regulations and guidelines among vegetable farmers: evidence from the field. Clean Eng Technol. 2022;6:100399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2022.100399

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.