Farmers' Behaviors, Perceptions and Determinants of Pesticides Application in China: Evidence from Six Eastern Provincial-level Regions

Based on a survey to 560 household farms in 6 provincial-level regions of eastern China, this paper studies farmers' application of pesticides, including the amounts of chemical pesticides, use of toxic pesticides and biological pest-control methods. Meanwhile, it summarizes the farmers' perceptions, ranging from pesticides choosing and field application to the awareness on the withdrawal period, possible consequences of overdosing and disposal of the containers. Thereafter, 9 demographic indicators are incorporated as the candidate determinants, including information on the householders, land-using and cropping structure, household income and geographical location. Through the adoption of multivariate OLS and logistic regression models, this paper identifies significant determinants affected farmers' behaviors. Finally, several policy recommendations are put forward, including the countermeasures to increase pesticidal efficiency, decreasing the use of toxic pesticides, improving farmers' capability and awareness on scientific application of pesticides.