Determinants of herbicide use in rice production in the Philippines |
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Authors: | Jesusa C Beltran Benedict White Michael Burton Graeme J Doole David J Pannell |
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Institution: | 1. Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Maligaya, Science City of Mu?oz, Nueva Ecija 3119, Philippines;2. School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley 6009, Western Australia;3. Center for Environmental Economics and Policy, School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley 6009, Western Australia;4. Department of Economics, Waikato University, Private Bag 3109, Hamilton, New Zealand |
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Abstract: | This study identifies farm‐specific and market factors affecting the adoption of herbicides and the level of herbicide use by rice farmers in the Philippines. This requires the application of a modified version of Heckman's two‐step method to estimate a random‐effects double‐hurdle model for unbalanced panel data. The age of the farmer, household size, and irrigation use are significant determinants of the decision of farmers to adopt herbicides as an alternative to manual weeding, while economic variables such as the price of herbicides, total income, and access to credit determine the level of herbicide use. Determinants of both adoption and level are land ownership, farm area, and the method of crop establishment. These results are potentially relevant when designing policies to reduce excessive herbicide use or to encourage the adoption of alternative weed control methods such as integrated weed management. |
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Keywords: | Q12 Herbicide use Double‐hurdle model Adoption of innovations Rice Integrated weed management |
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