The Analysis Of Influence Factors In Pesticides Use From Apple Growers In Shaanxi Province

Since the beginning of the21stcentury, food quality and safety has gradually become ahot issue that arouses global concerns, which not only relates to the economic development,but also plays a vital role in maintaining social stability. In recent years, frequent food safetyincidents seriously damage the interests of the customers and strongly affect their confidence.As the key part of food consumption, agricultural products become a part with most concernfrom human beings. Due to the improper usage of production input materials, especially theoverdose of fertilizers and pesticides, the agricultural products suffer severe pollution thatthreatens the health of the customers. As an important modernized technology for plantprotection, pesticides play an irreplaceable role in ensuring stable and effective grainproduction. However, its improper usage brings in side effects to agricultural productionquality and safety, and causes certain eco-environment pollution, thus declines the overalleconomical benefits of the society. During the whole process of agricultural production,farmers are the behavior subject, and their spraying behavior directly determines the qualityand safety of the agricultural products. Limited by self-interests, technologies, as well aspolicies, it is difficult to regularize and modernize farmers’ usage of pesticides, and thesupply of safe agricultural products is hard to guarantee. Moreover, the pollution generatedby chemical pesticides produces side effects to the society. Under such circumstance, aresearch on pesticide usage behavior of individual farmers and major factors affecting theirspraying behavior from the perspective of individual farmers is of great realistic significanceto ensure and control agricultural production safety from the production source.The thesis makes an exemplification study of apple production, and adopts field researchwith questionnaires in Li Quan county, San Yuan county, and Chun Hua county of Shaanxiprovince on their apple production and pesticides usage, in views of farmers economics andfarmers production behavior theories. Based on the research data, the thesis first analyzes theinput-output situation of apple production, and further certifies the relative optimal amount.Then, the thesis carries out empirical analysis on the major factors influencing the farmers’spraying behavior and draws the following conclusion:At the current apple production in Shaanxi province, the pesticide has been overdosed, and its actual usage amount is far more than the optimal amount. The marginal value ofpesticides is also in a low level. If farmers continue to add the usage amount of pesticidewithout restriction, not only the production will decline, but also the apple quality andsurrounding eco-environment will be damaged. Among all factors influencing the famers’pesticide usage, personal characteristics still spares the most part, which is in accordance withthe conclusion of farmers’ behavior studies. Following are the technology information,pesticide cognition, and producing model factors. All of the listed factors have positiveimpact on pesticide usage, while uncertain factors holds negative impact of whose effect onlynext to the personal characteristics. The effect of production features and government policiesis not prominent.