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Pesticide Use and Fish Harvests in Vietnamese Rice Agroecosystems
Author(s) -
Klemick Heather,
Lichtenberg Erik
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8276.2007.01059.x
Subject(s) - pesticide , vietnamese , paddy field , agroecosystem , fish <actinopterygii> , mekong delta , aquaculture , fishery , agroforestry , agriculture , biology , environmental science , ecology , water resource management , philosophy , linguistics
Criticisms of the Green Revolution have focused on environmental and human health problems associated with pesticides. Pesticides may also have adverse effects on wild fish and other aquatic animals in rice paddies that supply an additional source of food and income for some farm households and provide natural pest control. We use survey data from the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam to estimate the impact of pesticides on fish harvests from rice fields. The results confirm findings of ecological studies that pesticide use harms fish populations. However, fish harvest losses are small enough that ignoring them is likely economically rational.