Abstract:
Executive Summary
Growing populations are predicted to raise the demand for food production, largely due to
emerging nations' altering dietary preferences for higher-quality goods, such as more meat,
dairy, and grains for animals. Pests are a major cause of crop yield losses. Bangladeshi
farmers are often accused of overusing pesticides that play a crucial role in enhancing crop
yield by reducing losses to crop pests. Pesticide overuse has caused a series of negative
health and environmental externalities. The objectives of this study were to investigate the
relationship between pesticide use and behavioral variables among brinjal and cauliflower
producers, as well as examine the farmers' pesticide use patterns to identify the driving
factors affecting pesticide productivity in production. The respondents were selected by
using simple random sampling from Shibganj and Shahjahanpur upzillaes of Bogura district
and the information was collected through face-to-face interviews during the 2022 harvest
seasons. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information from 201 farmers. A
Cobb-Douglas production function was utilized to accomplish the study's objectives.Results
showed that pesticides have a statistically significant productivity effect on crop yield. By
using the Cobb-Douglas production function, the marginal products of 1 kg of the active
ingredients of pesticides for Brinjal are 62 and 65 kg and cauliflower are 50 and 54 kg in
Shahjahanpur and Shibganj Upazila respectively. The result also found labor, capital,
pesticide and highest education in the family statistically significant for crop yield.
Nevertheless, the value of the pesticides' marginal product for cauliflower and Brinjal is
insufficient to cover the associated marginal cost, or pesticide price, indicating pesticide
misuse for these two crops, respectively. It is noticeable that the use of pesticides varies
depending on the vegetable and age group. Thus, it can be said that farmers with more
experience use pesticides more frequently, whereas new farmers are attempting to use fewer
pesticides.
