Using economic incentives for pesticide usage reductions: responsiveness to input taxation and agricultural systems

There is growing interest in using environmental taxes to address the probl ems of agricultural pesticide contamination, given the potential of economi c instruments for higher efficiency compared to regulatory approaches. Howe ver, research to date has suggested low producer responsiveness to input pr ice changes. Tt is important to examine crop protection decisions and the o ptions for adjustment in more detail. A case-study arable farm model is pre sented to evaluate the implications of new, currently experimental, low-inp ut farming production systems for pesticide policy. If producers adhere to current systems, a pesticides tax at politically acceptable levels introduc ed as a stand-alone measure would perform poorly. Consistent with a number of studies, the model suggests that pesticide use levels could be reduced s ignificantly while actually increasing farm income levels through conversio n to low-input farming. Pesticide taxation cannot be viewed in isolation as a policy tool but should be part of a package of measures, including in pa rticular education and training to encourage and assist farming system chan ge. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.