Producers’ Perceptions of Public Good Agricultural Practices Standard and Their Pesticide Use: The Case of Q-GAP for Cabbage Farming in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand

Yuichiro Amekawa, Surat Hongsibsong, Nootchakarn Sawarng, Sumeth Yadoung and Girma Gezimu Gebre
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Yuichiro Amekawa: College of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto 603-8577, Japan
Surat Hongsibsong: Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Non-Communicable Diseases Center of Excellence, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Nootchakarn Sawarng: Faculty of Public Health, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Sumeth Yadoung: Program of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Girma Gezimu Gebre: Department of Agribusiness and Value Chain Management, Faculty of Environment, Gender and Development Studies, Hawassa University, Hawassa 05, Ethiopia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-25

Abstract: This study examined the effectiveness of Thailand’s Q-GAP initiative in raising cabbage farmers’ awareness regarding food safety assurance and improving their pesticide use practices by comparing 41 Q-GAP-certified and 90 uncertified farmers in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. The research methods included a questionnaire survey administered to the participating farmers and laboratory pesticide residue testing of their cabbage produce samples. The research found that certified farmers had a significantly more heedful attitude than uncertified farmers toward the effects of pesticide use on the users, consumers, and the environment. This is supported by the higher level of Q-GAP training experiences. Compared to uncertified farmers, a significantly lower proportion of certified farmers also applied either insecticide, fungicide, or herbicide, with significantly less frequencies when including in the analysis those who did not use the particular pesticide. In the pesticide residue analysis, no significant difference was found between the two types of farms regarding the number of farms detected with maximum residue level exceedance in the sample produce and regarding the results of the aggregate organophosphate pesticide analysis. However, it was found that the produce of the uncertified farmers contained significantly more residue in the aggregate synthetic pyrethroid pesticide analysis as compared to that of the certified farmers. These findings indicate the Q-GAP-certified farmers’ progress in process control from earlier Q-GAP studies on compliance. However, considering the limited achievements of certified farmers in pesticide handling and recordkeeping, and those of the Department of Agriculture officers in auditing, there is a need for more governmental efforts, especially in these areas.

Keywords: public GAP standard; Q-GAP; producer perceptions; pesticide use; pesticide residue; cabbage farming; Chiang Mai Province; Thailand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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