ABSTRACT

This study examines the pesticide misuse of Chinese farmers through a survey of farmers in Jiangsu Province, China, and it focuses on the impact of farmers’ attitudes and government supervision on their behaviour regarding pesticide application. The results show that pesticide misuse is still very common in China. Twenty-two percent of interviewed farmers use pesticides more than the recommended dosage, and 40% of farmers have the potential to use banned pesticides. Regression analysis shows that farmers’ attitudes towards pesticide residues influence their behaviour of pesticide application more significantly than government supervision. In addition, this paper explores the willingness of farmers to take part in the co-governance of agricultural product quality and safety. The results indicate that 29% of Chinese farmers want to be bystanders in the face of illegal agricultural safety behaviours. Farmers’ attitudes also affect their willingness to participate in the co-governance of agricultural product quality and safety to some degree. Although the direct impact of government supervision on farmers’ behaviour of pesticide use is relatively limited, it can encourage farmers to dissuade others from illegal behaviours.