Pesticide Handling and Human Health: Conventional and Organic Cotton Farming in Benin

Publikation: Working paperForskning

Standard

Pesticide Handling and Human Health : Conventional and Organic Cotton Farming in Benin. / Aihounton, Ghislain B. D.; Henningsen, Arne; Trifkovic, Neda.

Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen, 2021.

Publikation: Working paperForskning

Harvard

Aihounton, GBD, Henningsen, A & Trifkovic, N 2021 'Pesticide Handling and Human Health: Conventional and Organic Cotton Farming in Benin' Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen.

APA

Aihounton, G. B. D., Henningsen, A., & Trifkovic, N. (2021). Pesticide Handling and Human Health: Conventional and Organic Cotton Farming in Benin. Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen. IFRO Working Paper Nr. 2021/06

Vancouver

Aihounton GBD, Henningsen A, Trifkovic N. Pesticide Handling and Human Health: Conventional and Organic Cotton Farming in Benin. Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen. 2021.

Author

Aihounton, Ghislain B. D. ; Henningsen, Arne ; Trifkovic, Neda. / Pesticide Handling and Human Health : Conventional and Organic Cotton Farming in Benin. Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen, 2021. (IFRO Working Paper; Nr. 2021/06).

Bibtex

@techreport{4425bc236a114181858e2f2f2f344c31,
title = "Pesticide Handling and Human Health: Conventional and Organic Cotton Farming in Benin",
abstract = "Synthetic pesticides can be detrimental to the health of humans, particularly when handled inappropriately, which is often the case in developing countries. We investigate to what extent using personal protective equipment (PPE) during pesticide application can mitigate the detrimental health effects of pesticides. Our empirical analysis is based on data from smallholder cotton farmers in Benin and includes both conventional cotton farmers who extensively use synthetic pesticides and organic cotton farmers who are only allowed to use bio-pesticides. Using per-capita health expenditure as proxy for the health of the farmers, our results show that conventional cotton farmers generally have significantly poorer health than organic cotton farmers because most conventional farmers wear insufficient PPE when spraying pesticides. While PPE use vastly improves the health of conventional farmers, we do not find a statistically significant effect on the health of organic cotton farmers, which could indicate that bio-pesticides have much smaller detrimental health effects than synthetic pesticides. However, conventional farmers have a similar state of health as organic farmers when they use four or more PPE items. Hence, measures that encourage conventional cotton farmers to use more PPE during pesticide spraying or to adopt organic farming would substantially improve these farmers{\textquoteright} health.",
author = "Aihounton, {Ghislain B. D.} and Arne Henningsen and Neda Trifkovic",
year = "2021",
language = "English",
series = "IFRO Working Paper",
publisher = "Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen",
number = "2021/06",
type = "WorkingPaper",
institution = "Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen",

}

RIS

TY - UNPB

T1 - Pesticide Handling and Human Health

T2 - Conventional and Organic Cotton Farming in Benin

AU - Aihounton, Ghislain B. D.

AU - Henningsen, Arne

AU - Trifkovic, Neda

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Synthetic pesticides can be detrimental to the health of humans, particularly when handled inappropriately, which is often the case in developing countries. We investigate to what extent using personal protective equipment (PPE) during pesticide application can mitigate the detrimental health effects of pesticides. Our empirical analysis is based on data from smallholder cotton farmers in Benin and includes both conventional cotton farmers who extensively use synthetic pesticides and organic cotton farmers who are only allowed to use bio-pesticides. Using per-capita health expenditure as proxy for the health of the farmers, our results show that conventional cotton farmers generally have significantly poorer health than organic cotton farmers because most conventional farmers wear insufficient PPE when spraying pesticides. While PPE use vastly improves the health of conventional farmers, we do not find a statistically significant effect on the health of organic cotton farmers, which could indicate that bio-pesticides have much smaller detrimental health effects than synthetic pesticides. However, conventional farmers have a similar state of health as organic farmers when they use four or more PPE items. Hence, measures that encourage conventional cotton farmers to use more PPE during pesticide spraying or to adopt organic farming would substantially improve these farmers’ health.

AB - Synthetic pesticides can be detrimental to the health of humans, particularly when handled inappropriately, which is often the case in developing countries. We investigate to what extent using personal protective equipment (PPE) during pesticide application can mitigate the detrimental health effects of pesticides. Our empirical analysis is based on data from smallholder cotton farmers in Benin and includes both conventional cotton farmers who extensively use synthetic pesticides and organic cotton farmers who are only allowed to use bio-pesticides. Using per-capita health expenditure as proxy for the health of the farmers, our results show that conventional cotton farmers generally have significantly poorer health than organic cotton farmers because most conventional farmers wear insufficient PPE when spraying pesticides. While PPE use vastly improves the health of conventional farmers, we do not find a statistically significant effect on the health of organic cotton farmers, which could indicate that bio-pesticides have much smaller detrimental health effects than synthetic pesticides. However, conventional farmers have a similar state of health as organic farmers when they use four or more PPE items. Hence, measures that encourage conventional cotton farmers to use more PPE during pesticide spraying or to adopt organic farming would substantially improve these farmers’ health.

M3 - Working paper

T3 - IFRO Working Paper

BT - Pesticide Handling and Human Health

PB - Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen

ER -

ID: 272581402