Following the conclusion of Lamers et al. (2011), these results indicate that the
current pesticide use practices in rice paddies pose a serious environmental risk to
the mountainous regions of Vietnam. Since surface and groundwater is re-used for
domestic purposes, there is a need to quantify and forecast pesticide losses and to
establish and evaluate management strategies that can minimize pesticide exposure.
4.5 Possibilities to Reduce Pesticide Use
4.5.1 Policy Challenges
At present, Thailand and Vietnam are the world’s largest exporters of rice. This
success has been achieved through investments in agriculture and policies that are
highly supportive of agricultural development and have promoted the use of high
yielding varieties, fertilizers and pesticides. Both countries have little domestic
pesticide production, although Vietnam is trying to develop its own pesticide
industry, and as a result rely almost entirely on pesticide imports.
To support farmers in acquiring pesticides, Thailand and Vietnam do not levy
import taxes on the product and also provide large quantities of pesticides to their
farmers for free in the case of major pest outbreaks. Attempts to do away with these
indirect pesticide subsidies have been met with fierce resistance from farmers and
commercial interests, who have argued that they are essential to maintain the
country’s agricultural output and food security (McCann 2005).
Thailand and Vietnam have; however, taken steps recently to try and reduce
agricultural pesticide use. Praneetvatakul et al. (in press) described changes in the
Thai pesticide policy framework and noted that since the early 1990s, there have
been a number of policy measures introduced aimed at reducing pesticide use. Yet,
many measures have relied on voluntary pesticide reductions by farmers through
the promotion of integrated pest management (IPM), organic farming, farmer field
schools (FFS) and good agricultural practices (GAP), and support for some of these
programs, such as IPM and FFS, has been reduced as the Thai government has
increasingly focused its support on its public GAP program, the functioning of
which we will look at below. The Vietnamese government also introduced an IPM
program in 1992, tightened the pesticide registration system in the early 1990s, and
introduced a public GAP standard (VietGAP) in 2008.
Thailand and Vietnam have also increasingly restricted the use of a number of
highly hazardous agricultural pesticides. Thailand became a party to the Rotterdam
Convention on Prior Informed Consent (PIC) in 2002 and Vietnam followed suit in
2007.
1 This convention aims to help, in particular developing countries to gain
1 Officially called the ‘Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain
Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade’, the Convention was adopted on 10th
September 1998 and came into force on 24th February 2004. For details see http://www.pic.int/.
166
M. Lamers et al.
current pesticide use practices in rice paddies pose a serious environmental risk to
the mountainous regions of Vietnam. Since surface and groundwater is re-used for
domestic purposes, there is a need to quantify and forecast pesticide losses and to
establish and evaluate management strategies that can minimize pesticide exposure.
4.5 Possibilities to Reduce Pesticide Use
4.5.1 Policy Challenges
At present, Thailand and Vietnam are the world’s largest exporters of rice. This
success has been achieved through investments in agriculture and policies that are
highly supportive of agricultural development and have promoted the use of high
yielding varieties, fertilizers and pesticides. Both countries have little domestic
pesticide production, although Vietnam is trying to develop its own pesticide
industry, and as a result rely almost entirely on pesticide imports.
To support farmers in acquiring pesticides, Thailand and Vietnam do not levy
import taxes on the product and also provide large quantities of pesticides to their
farmers for free in the case of major pest outbreaks. Attempts to do away with these
indirect pesticide subsidies have been met with fierce resistance from farmers and
commercial interests, who have argued that they are essential to maintain the
country’s agricultural output and food security (McCann 2005).
Thailand and Vietnam have; however, taken steps recently to try and reduce
agricultural pesticide use. Praneetvatakul et al. (in press) described changes in the
Thai pesticide policy framework and noted that since the early 1990s, there have
been a number of policy measures introduced aimed at reducing pesticide use. Yet,
many measures have relied on voluntary pesticide reductions by farmers through
the promotion of integrated pest management (IPM), organic farming, farmer field
schools (FFS) and good agricultural practices (GAP), and support for some of these
programs, such as IPM and FFS, has been reduced as the Thai government has
increasingly focused its support on its public GAP program, the functioning of
which we will look at below. The Vietnamese government also introduced an IPM
program in 1992, tightened the pesticide registration system in the early 1990s, and
introduced a public GAP standard (VietGAP) in 2008.
Thailand and Vietnam have also increasingly restricted the use of a number of
highly hazardous agricultural pesticides. Thailand became a party to the Rotterdam
Convention on Prior Informed Consent (PIC) in 2002 and Vietnam followed suit in
2007.
1 This convention aims to help, in particular developing countries to gain
1 Officially called the ‘Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain
Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade’, the Convention was adopted on 10th
September 1998 and came into force on 24th February 2004. For details see http://www.pic.int/.
166
M. Lamers et al.