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New Research: Toxic Pollution from Agriculture: Costs and Remedies

Excessive chemical pesticide use can injure the health of agricultural workers, damage ecosystems, and pose dangers for consumers of agricultural products. Existing knowledge of health and environmental effects of pesticides in developing countries is based largely on anecdotes, because data scarcity has impeded empirical work. The World Bank is committed to the promotion of sustainable agriculture in partner countries, and for the past several years, a team of researchers led by Susmita Dasgupta in the DECRG has examined the severity of toxic agricultural pollution in developing countries and has analyzed the potential for adopting safer production methods.

On Pesticide Use in Developing Countries, field research has been undertaken to improve our understanding of  health effects; the availability of information on risks, perception of these risks, safe handling and alternatives; the existence of pesticide application “hot spots;” the delivery system for pesticides; institutional incentives; and the determinants of farmers’ pesticide application choices. On Cleaner Production Alternative, the research has investigated the comparative economics of Integrated Pest Management and "mainstream", chemical-intensive agriculture in developing countries:  Production functions, cost functions, health impacts and environmental impacts. In addition, data on pesticide residues on food products from the FDA has been analyzed for insight on agricultural trade, development and toxic risk. View more information on the Toxic Pollution from Agriculture: Costs and Remedies web pages.