Pesticides and Social Inequity

Widening disparity between rich and poor Increasing landlessness and unemployment 1980s and switch to non-trad. Ag. Non-traditional ag.- labor intensive, grown on small land tracts and tend to be highly value so economic stimulant New development plans put in place However, failure to address pesticide problems cause same problems as cotton era

Dominican Republic Nontrad. ag successful- foreign investment Satellite farming system- individual farmers contract with exporter who provide input credit -nontrad - less structured exporters have little knowledge or control over cultivation practices Oriental veggie farm use wide range of chemicals Pest problem- economic loss due to US reg. -pesticide treadmill Trips palmi- out of control; spider that ate bug was eliminated by pesticides; USDA quaratine

Constanzas Valley- explosion of greenhouse white fly Azua Valley- blamed small farmers for the pest problems - company applied pesticides for the farmers - after 3 yrs outbreak of cotton whitefly - loss of $5.9 million -several thousand farmers lost jobs

Honduras: Melon Export Boom 1980s cotton production decreased Unemployment rate of 60% in male workforce USAID encouraged melon production Melons-contract farming or plantation -pesticides applied on calendar schedule Outbreaks- small farmers blamed; only some admitted frequent pest. applications could be the cause : 11 applications in 2 months Small farmers econ losses compounded by policy change

Patsa (largest contractor)-shifted melon from contract to plantation Overall shift to larger farmers Integrated Pest Management (IPM)- plant barrier, elimination of carrier plants and selective pest use Bumper harvest but low prices -small farms couldn’t cover costs -banks resist small farm loans Options for small farmers limited

Guatemalan Response to Pest Crisis Increased pest use; increased pest problems; rejection of product by US Reduce problem- worked with primary exporter and large production association to organize meetings, workshops, field visits and sessions with FDA and EPA Begins to Pay off – shipment violations drop from 27.3% to 6.6% in one year - unsure if benefiting small farms -Reduction in # of growers and more tech. assistance can deal with regulations more effectively

Non trad- 1980s TNC’s used contract farming to control melon market and squeezed out independent farmers Pest problem- switch to plantations, only a few farmers hired as managers Survey of 148 nontrad farmers and 13 exporters -pest contributing to structural change - relationship between grower and exporter determinant of pest usage -small farmers using more and more pest

Pest induced structural change FDA pressure exporters about residues Two alternatives: Grow own food or give contracts exclusively to large farmers Regulation of contract farmers unsuccessful

Exporter and TNC mobility Larger are better equipped to respond to problems and survive Key to survival economic resources Decreased risk by control of export, market phases and contract farms Anticipate, plan and reinvest in other areas Vacating exporting magnify problems - unemployment and population movement and redistribution -depression of land prices positive for TNC’s

Conclusion Pest problem can generate renewed ecological crisis Fueled econ and social problems- land concentration, farmer impoverishment and displacement Ignoring the ecological disruption recreates problems trying to overcome Large scale adapted ecological problems Some adopted better pest management but success of flexibility and mobility gives little motivation to change