Farmers' Willingness to Pay for Health Risk Reductions of Pesticide Use in China: A Contingent Valuation Study.

This study aimed to estimate farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for health risk reductions of pesticide use by applying the contingent valuation method (CVM) and to explore the factors that influence farmers' WTP in China. In total, 244 farmers were randomly selected and interviewed. The mean WTP was estimated to be $65.38 (0.94% of total household income) per household per year for a 5/10,000 reduction in morbidity risk. This study shows that farmers' socioeconomic and attitudinal factors that significantly affect their WTP include farmers' farming income, education, household size and risk perceptions. In particular, the results demonstrate that respondents' social trust, social reciprocity and social networks have significant impacts on their WTP. The findings of this study can provide useful insights for policy makers to design effective policies to address health problems related to pesticide use in the developing world.

Farmers' Risk Preferences in Rural China: Measurements and Determinants.

This study measures farmers' risk attitudes in rural China using a survey instrument and a complementary experiment conducted in the field with the same sample of subjects. Using a question asking people about their willingness to take risks "in general", we found that the average response of our sample is slightly risk averse. Farmers' exogenous factors (age, gender, and height) and self-reported happiness have a significant impact on farmers' willingness to take risks. The experiment results show that approximately 44% of farmers in the study area are risk averse. We compare farmers' self-reported measures of risk preferences derived from the survey instrument to preferences elicited through the experimental task. Results show that answers to the general risk attitude question in the survey can predict farmers' behaviors in the experiment to a statistically significant degree. This paper can contribute to the empirical literature on comparing local farmers' risk attitudes across different risk preference measurement methods in the developing world.

Valuing health risk in agriculture: a choice experiment approach to pesticide use in China.

This paper presents a choice experiment approach to investigate farmers' valuations for health risk changes associated with pesticide use in Anqiu County, China. An empirical comparison on the disparity between farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for a health risk reduction and willingness to accept (WTA) for the same risk increase is also conducted. Respondents were randomly assigned into the WTP group or the WTA group. Four attributes (health consequence, baseline risk, risk change size, and price) were identified and included. The results show that cancer consequence due to pesticide use decreases the utility of the farmer. A higher baseline risk has a higher WTP to reduce the risk and a higher probability of receiving compensation. If the health risk change size is bigger, it will result in a higher WTP and higher compensation. Household income, education, and age have significant and positive impacts on farmers' WTP. Farmers who are more educated or female are more likely to accept the compensation scheme if health risks increase. The marginal WTA for the same risk change is about two times higher than the marginal WTP. The findings of this study can contribute to the literature comparing people's WTP and WTA in a discrete choice experiment on valuing health risk changes associated with pesticide use.

Gender differences in pesticide use knowledge, risk awareness and practices in Chinese farmers.

This study investigates gender differences in the pesticide use knowledge, risk awareness and practices of farmers in Anqiu County, China. A total of 452 male and 178 female farmers from seven towns were interviewed in 2016. The results show that there are gender differences regarding knowledge of pesticide impacts, pesticide use practices and protective behaviors. Male farmers had a better knowledge of pesticide use and greater awareness of associated health risks. More men than women used pesticides and disposed of the pesticide containers correctly, but fewer men applied protective measures or behaviors when using pesticides. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that participation in farmer professional cooperatives differed by gender and contributed greatly to the protective behaviors of farmers (p<0.05). These results suggest that gender-sensitive educational programs should be implemented to increase the awareness of safety amongst farmers, and protective measures should be encouraged to reduce exposure to pesticide risks in China.

Pesticide Use and Risk Perceptions among Small-Scale Farmers in Anqiu County, China.

The unsafe use and misuse of pesticides in China are major threats to farmers' health and the environment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate small-scale farmers' practices with regard to pesticide use and identify the determinants of their behavior in Anqiu County, China. The results show that the frequency of pesticide application by local farmers is high and that the improper disposal of pesticides after use is common in the study area. Although most farmers felt that they were at some degree of risk when using pesticides, farmers were found to overuse pesticides in the study area. The probability of pesticide overuse significantly decreased with farmers' risk perceptions, willingness to reduce pesticide use, better social relationships, and strict government monitoring. The perception of risk can thus be an important element in education and communication efforts.