1.4.2 Limiting the Risk of Synthetic Pesticides
Few synthetic pesticides are used in near-subsistence farming, as intercropping,
crop rotations, long fallow periods and the use of multiple varieties help to control
weeds and insect pests and any other plant health problems, while fallow and forest
areas provide habitats for the natural predators of insect pests. Land use intensification in the mountainous areas of Southeast Asia has tended to be accompanied by
more intense pest problems (Wezel 2000; Roder et al. 1995; Pandey and van Minh
1998), leading to an increase in synthetic pesticide use in order to manage these
problems. A study comparing gross crop margins to levels of synthetic pesticide use
in northern Thailand by Schreinemachers et al. (2011), showed that a 10 % increase
in gross crop margins was associated with an 8 % increase in pesticide use.
As upland farmers in some areas have moved from near-subsistence to commercial agriculture within one or two decades, the rate of increase in pesticide use has
been rapid, while knowledge about the adverse impacts of pesticides on ecosystems
and human health has remained limited. In addition to their geophysical and
hydrological characteristics, this lack of knowledge makes mountainous areas
particularly vulnerable to the risks of incorrect pesticide use. Studying pesticide
pollution in upland paddy rice systems in Vietnam, Lamers et al. (2011) showed
high levels of environmental and human risk exposure related to pesticide residues.
1.4.3 Poverty, Agriculture and Sustainable Resource Use
In spite of strong economic growth in Thailand and Vietnam and significant
reductions in poverty rates, widespread poverty persists, especially in mountainous
areas. Surveying nearly 300 households in the Yen Chau district of north-western
Vietnam over 2 years, Zeller et al. (in Chap. 12) classified 41 % of the upland
households as chronically poor, but only 3 % of the lowland households. As the
average rate of chronic poverty for the district was 8.4 %, it shows that the average
hides important variations between upland and lowland households.
Poor households have less access to formal credit sources and on average pay
higher interest rates on loans (Saint-Macary et al. in Chap. 4), and are also more at
risk on average than wealthier households, plus have a higher discount rate (that is,
a stronger preference for current over future income). As a result, poorer
households are less interested in making the long-term investments necessary in
order to sustain their natural resource base; for instance, by applying soil conservation techniques. The challenge for sustainable agriculture in mountainous area is to
balance the pressing need for improved livelihoods among the upland population
with the equally pressing need for a sustainable use of natural resources.
Giving poor households an economic incentive to sustain natural resources;
therefore, requires targeted pro-poor programs to be introduced by governments,
or alternatively well-designed market-based mechanisms such as payments for
1 From Challenges to Sustainable Solutions for Upland Agriculture. . .
17
Few synthetic pesticides are used in near-subsistence farming, as intercropping,
crop rotations, long fallow periods and the use of multiple varieties help to control
weeds and insect pests and any other plant health problems, while fallow and forest
areas provide habitats for the natural predators of insect pests. Land use intensification in the mountainous areas of Southeast Asia has tended to be accompanied by
more intense pest problems (Wezel 2000; Roder et al. 1995; Pandey and van Minh
1998), leading to an increase in synthetic pesticide use in order to manage these
problems. A study comparing gross crop margins to levels of synthetic pesticide use
in northern Thailand by Schreinemachers et al. (2011), showed that a 10 % increase
in gross crop margins was associated with an 8 % increase in pesticide use.
As upland farmers in some areas have moved from near-subsistence to commercial agriculture within one or two decades, the rate of increase in pesticide use has
been rapid, while knowledge about the adverse impacts of pesticides on ecosystems
and human health has remained limited. In addition to their geophysical and
hydrological characteristics, this lack of knowledge makes mountainous areas
particularly vulnerable to the risks of incorrect pesticide use. Studying pesticide
pollution in upland paddy rice systems in Vietnam, Lamers et al. (2011) showed
high levels of environmental and human risk exposure related to pesticide residues.
1.4.3 Poverty, Agriculture and Sustainable Resource Use
In spite of strong economic growth in Thailand and Vietnam and significant
reductions in poverty rates, widespread poverty persists, especially in mountainous
areas. Surveying nearly 300 households in the Yen Chau district of north-western
Vietnam over 2 years, Zeller et al. (in Chap. 12) classified 41 % of the upland
households as chronically poor, but only 3 % of the lowland households. As the
average rate of chronic poverty for the district was 8.4 %, it shows that the average
hides important variations between upland and lowland households.
Poor households have less access to formal credit sources and on average pay
higher interest rates on loans (Saint-Macary et al. in Chap. 4), and are also more at
risk on average than wealthier households, plus have a higher discount rate (that is,
a stronger preference for current over future income). As a result, poorer
households are less interested in making the long-term investments necessary in
order to sustain their natural resource base; for instance, by applying soil conservation techniques. The challenge for sustainable agriculture in mountainous area is to
balance the pressing need for improved livelihoods among the upland population
with the equally pressing need for a sustainable use of natural resources.
Giving poor households an economic incentive to sustain natural resources;
therefore, requires targeted pro-poor programs to be introduced by governments,
or alternatively well-designed market-based mechanisms such as payments for
1 From Challenges to Sustainable Solutions for Upland Agriculture. . .
17