Food Safety In Pakistan

Food safety has a prime importance for the public health and well-being of consumers globally.The issue of the high pesticides residues in the food is a major challenge faced by the Pakistani consumers and the international trade.Previous studies report the presence of the high pesticides' residues in the vegetables and fruits at alarmingly high level,above the maximum residual levels.The problem of the high pesticides residues is predominantly due to the unsustainable production practices at the producer's level,which involve the use of higher quantities of pesticides by the farmers and the lack of the awareness of the consumers about pesticides residues in the fresh produce.Thus,it is critical to systematically investigate and discuss the role of the producers and consumers towards the food safety.Farmers are the key actors in the production process;therefore,it is of great significance to investigate their production behavior,especially the use of the inputs like the,pesticides on the crops.On the other hand,investigating consumers awareness level regarding the presence of the pesticide's residues and other contaminants in the fresh produce is also critical to study this issue from consumer's perspective.Therefore,this dissertation aims to systematically investigate the factors,like institutional factors,farmer's risk preferences,demographic and farm characteristics and consumers factors that influence the food safety of the fresh produce by using the cross-sectional survey of the farmers in rural areas as well as consumers in urban Pakistan.Regulatory systems play an important role in the control and management of the food safety problems like,setting limits for pesticide residues,aflatoxins,heavy metals,and microbes in the food and in protecting the health and wellbeing of domestic and global consumers.Therefore,an analysis of current food safety administration system of the Pakistan is conducted,and then the factors influencing the pesticides use behaviors of the farmers,especially the role of the risk aversion in the pesticides use of the farmers is studied by employing the Ordinary least square(OLS).Furthermore an investigation into the characteristics of the consumers and the their concerns for the food safety(especially,concerns for the use of hormones,antibiotics and pesticides during the production process),through the application of the logit model(Logit Model)and finally consumers' willingness to pay for the pesticides residues free vegetables,is conducted through the application of the ordered logit model(Ordered Logit Model).These investigations would contribute towards the rich understanding of the role of the producers and the role of the consumers in the food safety and will suggest the key steps towards ensuring the food safety for consumers in Pakistan and mitigating the loses incurring to the economy as a result of the export rejections.Keeping in view the above background and problem,the aim of the study is to investigate the factors that drive the farmers towards the unsustainable and excessive use of the pesticides on the vegetables and on the other hand,the socioeconomic factors of consumers that influence their food safety concerns and also the consumers willingness to pay for the pesticides free vegetables.This study firstly reviews the relevant theories and literature and current researches on the topic of the pesticides use and role of the risk in farmers input decisions and the socioeconomic factors that influence the farmers concern for the food safety.The study firstly provides a brief on the food safety administration and the major gaps with the system and addressing these challenges.Through this exercise it is concluded that,serious draw back exists in the food safety administration in Pakistan which make it vulnerable and spread of the food safety problems in the country,the resulting contamination of produce.These flaws are undermining the international trade and affecting the health of domestic as well as global consumers.Next,this study empirically analyzes the role of the risk aversion and other demographic factors on their pesticides use decisions.The factors including the risk aversion,and other socioeconomic factors,influence the farmers higher pesticides use.Then in the next chapter we investigate the socioeconomic factors influence on the consumer's concern for the food safety.It concludes that females,high educated consumers,frequent vegetable consumers and employed meal planners are less likely to consider the three production practices(use of the hormones,antibiotics and hormones to be safe).In the last empirical chapter,we investigate the consumer's willingness to pay for the pesticide's residues free vegetables.It is found that income has significant and positive influence on willingness to pay(WTP).Finally,from two perspective i.e."producers" and "consumers perspective" of food safety some policy implications and suggestions are put forward to improve the food safety situation and safeguard the consumers health and international trade from losses in Pakistan.The main conclusions of the study are as follows,1.Multiple food safety issues are being faced by Pakistan,including the presence of high pesticide residues in food,the presence of aflatoxins and heavy metals,and microbial contamination in the food items.2.The food safety administration system in Pakistan has many shortcomings,such as segmented,and lack of a single agency at national level and several departments involved in the food safety.3.The food legislations are outdated,the controlling bodies are not synchronized,and not up to the mark of international markets.Thus,lack of coordination among the controlling departments and the duplication of activities are draining precious resources of the Pakistan.4.The risk aversion had influence on the farmer's pesticides use decisions,as majority of the farmers showed the risk aversion tendency and used the higher quantities of pesticides.5.The farmer's choosing the whole sale and local markets compared to the dealers apply the significantly higher quantities of pesticides on the vegetables.6.There is a lack of any consumer education program on the food safety from the government sector.Consumers lack of confidence in the safety of the food production,is widely believed to their lack of the awareness or unfamiliarity about the scientific and the technical,aspects of the production processes.7.Consumers in Pakistan are concerned about the presence of the pesticide's residues.A good majority showed their willingness to pay for the pesticide's free produce.There exists a niche market for the pesticide's residues free produce markets as a small fraction of the respondents were willing to pay a high premium for the pesticides free produce.Thus,the high income/wealthy class is due to their concern for the food safety are willing to pay for the pesticide's residues free produce.Based on the findings and conclusions of this study,the policy implications and recommendations to improve the food safety situation in Pakistan are proposed.1.The weak food safety regulatory system may result into the loss of the precious lives and extra burden on the economy due to the unnecessary border detentions of the trade consignments.An overhaul and revamping of the existing food safety administration system is urgently needed,which may involve the creation of a Central food safety authority and promulgation of the national level laws.2.There is a need to introduce the pesticides residue testing system in the whole sale and local markets will push the farmers to use the pesticides at reasonable levels.3.In particular,there seems to be a need to provide farmers with risk-management options,such as crop insurance for which may motivate them to reduce pesticide use.4.Moreover extension seminars regarding pesticide toxicity and potential hazards of pesticides should be initiated in the local language to increase public awareness and also the capacity building of the farmers should be conducted especially the illiterate farmers and to enhance their knowledge about pest management,pesticides use and related hazards to human health.5.There is a need to raise awareness among the consumer's regarding the pesticides residue which may influence farmers to adopt the low toxic chemicals.This study primarily focused on Pakistan;however,the results are relevant in other developing countries in with an intensifying agriculture practices,and where greater and wide spread use of pesticides among smallholder farmers is a dominant trend.6.The information on the socioeconomic conditions of consumers would be helpful in the design and implementation of more effective information programs to promote safe foods to a segmented market.