8 pages, Does it matter whether farmers receive advice on pest management strategies from public or from private (pesticide company affiliated) extension services? We use survey data from 733 Swiss fruit growers who are currently contending with an infestation by an invasive pest, the fruit fly Drosophila Suzukii. We find that farmers who are advised by public extension services are more likely (+9–10%) to use preventive measures (e.g. nets) while farmers who are advised by private extension services are more likely (+8–9%) to use synthetic insecticides. These results are robust to the inclusion of various covariates, ways to cluster standard errors, and inverse probability weighting. We also show that our results are unlikely to be driven by omitted variable bias. Our findings have implications for the current debates on both the ongoing privatization of agricultural extension and concerns regarding negative environmental and health externalities of pesticide use.
Wangalachi, A. (author), Poland, D. (author), Mugo, S. (author), Gichuki, S.T. (author), Ouya, D. (author), Kimani, G. (author), Rabar, J. (author), and International Maize & Wheat Improvement Ctr CIMMYT, Nairobi 00621, Kenya
PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, Bethesda, MD 20814 USA
Kenya Agr Res Inst KARI, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
Int AIDS Vaccine Initiat IAVI, Nairobi 00202, Kenya
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2011-06-01
Published:
Nigeria: Academic Journals
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 164 Document Number: D08223
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 119 Document Number: C13546
Notes:
5 p., APEN (Australasia Pacific Extension Network) 2001 International Conference, Oct3-5, 2001, at University of South queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
