The Impacts of Increased use of Pesticides

Rice production is an important economic activity among indigenous smallholder farmers. In the Aveyime community of southern Ghana rice production among indigenous farmers in the early 1920s was characterized by the use of botanicals such as ''neem'' extract for the control of pests and disease as well as compost and farmyard manure to help replenish the soil''s lost nutrients. However with the advent of chemical fertilizers and pesticides the majority of farmers converted from organic to inorganic systems of rice production without considering the negative effects associated with the use of pesticides. The study investigates the common pesticides used by farmers and the major factors that influenced their rapid adoption. It also estimates and compares the private and social BCRs of organic and inorganic systems of rice production.