Use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in frontier areas: A case study in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon
Autor: | Christian Velasco, David Eche, Alexandra Torres, Bolier Torres, Estefanía Jácome, Cristian Vasco |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Rok vydání: | 2021 |
Předmět: |
Government
Land use Amazon rainforest business.industry Geography Planning and Development food and beverages Forestry Management Monitoring Policy and Law Pesticide Agricultural economics Geography Deforestation Agriculture Chemical fertilizers Colonists Naranjilla Ecuadorian Agricultural productivity Pesticides business Socioeconomic status Amazon Kichwa Nature and Landscape Conservation |
Zdroj: | Repositorio Universidad Regional Amazónica Universidad Regional Amazónica instacron:IKIAM |
Popis: | The excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture is one of the main sources of pollution globally. While a significant body of research has focused on analyzing the socioeconomic drivers of deforestation in the Amazon basin, far less attention has been paid to explaining why Amazonian people use chemicals in agricultural production. Using data from a household survey, this paper aims at analyzing the drivers of expenditure on chemical fertilizers and pesticides among Kichwa and mestizo colonist populations in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon. The results show that most households in the research area use chemicals, which seems to be related to most households engaged in the production of naranjilla, a citrus fruit that requires high amounts of pesticides to prosper in the Amazon. Expenditure on chemicals is principally driven by wealth, access to credit and land use patterns, with households with more land in crops spending more on fertilizers and pesticides. An important finding is that households receiving money from government social programs spend more on both chemical fertilizers and pesticides than non-recipient households. Ethnicity does not play any role in shaping expenditures on both chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Our results reflect that clear, consistent and coordinated policies are necessary to reconcile conservation and rural development in the Amazon, since, at present, ambiguous and even contradictory policies are not effective in achieving that goal. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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