Factors Influencing the Demand for Pesticides in Tropical Agriculture

Factors Influencing the Demand for Pesticides in Tropical Agriculture EDSON J. H A M B L E T O N

Downloaded by EAST CAROLINA UNIV on April 10, 2018 | https://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: January 1, 1955 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1955-0013.ch003

Plant Pest Control Branch, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

Many new and effective pesticides developed since World War II have stimulated interest in safer and better application methods. Factors affecting this interest in the highly populated areas of the tropics and elsewhere include the farmer's ability to purchase the modern pesticides, his opportunity to learn application methods, his standard of living and farm practices, and his customs, religion, and superstitions. International organizations, the pesticide industry, and technical— assistance programs cooperating with local governments are doing much to stimulate this interest. This will result in wider use of pesticides abroad, which, in turn, will contribute to more economic stability and a better food supply. the many intricate factors affecting the use of pesticides in tropical agriculture, the one probably foremost i n the minds of manufacturers, industrial chemists, and dealers i n chemical products has to do with foreign markets. If there is to be an expansion i n the use of their products abroad, there must be a demand and market for them, as well as suitable foreign exchange and the technical knowledge and equipment indispensable for applying them. Too often, however, in our eagerness to develop new markets, we lose sight of the problems confronting the peoples of other nations. O u r analysis of the situation may be misleading i n that we fail to interpret the effects of custom, tradition, educational facilities, and religious superstitions on the advancement or retardation of agricultural technology and production. D u r i n g the past 10 years, the pesticide industry and those who have been engaged in foreign programs have witnessed an unprecedented increase in the use of insecticides and other chemicals throughout many countries all over the world. Some of the problems that had deterred progress in the use of pesticides are better understood today. W a y s and means are being found to overcome them to the advantage of both producer and consumer. Interest i n the use of modern pesticides and methods of applying them elsewhere in the world follows closely the research and practices that have been developed in the U n i t e d States. T h i s is especially true throughout L a t i n A m e r i c a , where agricultural officials and growers alike are rapidly becoming conscious of the need for pest control to improve crop and animal production. If we are to expect a normal and continued increase i n the demand for A m e r i c a n pesticides abroad, there are many complex problems that must be overcome. Unfavorable Factors P r i o r to W o r l d W a r II, which ushered i n a new era of pesticidal chemistry and more new products than we can satisfactorily evaluate, the L a t i n A m e r i c a n grower fought his pests singlehandedly for the most part, utilizing the few products that were available with little or no technical assistance. Only the more prosperous grower could afford to purchase chemicals and the equipment to apply them. T h e underprivileged, because of inadequate knowledge as well as lack of material means, constantly faced the threat of one crop loss after another. A situation of this kind 9

PESTICIDES IN TROPICAL AGRICULTURE Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1955.


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cannot long be tolerated. Neither can a grower's incentive to sow his seed and reap a harvest hold up indefinitely without technical assistance i f he is unable to obtain compensation otherwise. Conditions of this kind are common. T h e factors responsible f o r them are deep-rooted and varied. U n t i l the scientist and government official can work out a solution to these problems, one cannot expect new markets for pesticides to develop rapidly. A g r i c u l t u r a l practices i n foreign countries are varied, whether they be i n methods of tilling the soil or i n pest control. Some of the same practices have been repeated for hundreds of years. Pest control has been accomplished largely by t r i a l and error through cultural methods, or not practiced at a l l . E v e n i n countries where agriculture is striving to become modernized, the low purchasing power of large populations is not conducive to the acquisition of mechanical means to conduct the type of agriculture we are accustomed to i n the U n i t e d States. A lower standard of livi n g exists. People manage on less and they forsake the better. Most of them live i n areas where transportation is a problem. T h e y do everything the h a r d , slow way. T h e i r health is impaired. T h e y become disinterested unless assistance of some kind is provided. T h i s situation will require time, patience, material aid, and assistance to overcome. W e cannot count strongly on the people of these countries to demand our i n secticides, fungicides, and other chemical products on their own initiative. T h i s is perhaps one of the biggest problems facing the exporter of A m e r i c a n pesticides. Sales of pesticides to many parts of the world have increased considerably during the past 10 years, but most of these shipments abroad have been utilized on such exportable crops as cotton and bananas in the A m e r i c a n republics, or on crops that provide means of obtaining dollar exchange so that A m e r i c a n goods can be purchased. Insecticides are also used to control household insects and against vectors of human diseases, on citrus fruits, on migratory locusts and ants, or against pests of national concern where governments have assumed responsibility for control or made it possible for growers to purchase insecticides at cost. L a r g e quantities o f insecticides such as D D T have gone into health programs abroad. B u t it will require more than the demonstration of our firm belief i n pesticides before peoples and governments are able and willing to tackle their own problems through know-how and suitable economic backing. Another factor having an important bearing on the unfavorable demand for pesticides i n most of the so-called underdeveloped countries is the scant attention given market g r a d i n g of vegetables, fruits, and meats for home consumption. B e cause there is no food surplus, everything that is grown finds its way to h u n g r y stomachs if it is at a l l worth eating. W h y , therefore, should a grower spray his citrus trees with expensive insecticides i f he can sell all he produces at a price that satisfies him, even though his product is f a r below A m e r i c a n standards? T h e same holds true for the vegetable grower. Acres of crop land riddled by insects and disease are plowed under because that appears to be the only practical t h i n g to do. In cases of this kind, the farmer will often plant a different crop, and i f nature is on his side, he still feels that his efforts have not been i n vain. Need for Education L a c k of facilities for education and service to r u r a l communities deprives h u n dreds of thousands of small scale growers of a means of learning the essentials i n the protection of their crops and livestock against destructive enemies. Most of these people, regardless of where they live, would gladly join the ranks of those who know better, if given the opportunity. There are many places in L a t i n A m e r i c a n agriculture where a little organized assistance to the small farmer would pay dividends in crop and livestock production. Species of leaf-cutting ants, for example, occur all the way from Mexico to A r g e n t i n a . T h e y are especially abundant in the tropical and semitropical areas. B r a z i l has long recognized the destructiveness of these ants and has done more to study and combat them than any other nation. M a n y campaigns have been waged against these pests, which attack many crops; yet for some reason the small grower is often neglected, and he loses interest because he is unsuccessful i n his control efforts or he cannot


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afford chemicals to do the job at the proper time. F o r a long time sulfur and white arsenic were the cheapest and most reliable chemicals used i n ant control. T h e n came carbon bisulfide and more recently methyl bromide, chlordan, aldrin, a n d d i e l d r i n — a l l effective ant killers. Although the most economical materials and means for fighting ants appeal to a farmer, he often loses out simply because he has no chance to learn how best to apply those materials that are available. A n uninformed f a r m population cannot be expected to purchase agricultural chemicals without the assistance of appropriate f a r m organizations. Neither can these farmers be expected to become interested i n obtaining the best weapons for fighting insect and disease plagues unless these weapons can be properly demonstrated. D D T , for example, became a household expression the world over not necessarily because of its merits, but because of the w a y it was used and demonstrated i n the most remote parts of the earth. T h e merits alone of a given product cannot be relied on to build a market for it abroad. T h i s is especially true today with the many new insecticides that cause confusion even to the growers of the U n i t e d States. Some of the countries the technical organizations abroad are concerned with have not even had trained entomologists or plant pathologists on their staffs. Where specialists do exist and are performing excellent work, their efforts are too often confined to the laboratory. Applied science i n pest control, as it is understood i n the United States, is still i n its infancy i n most countries. There is still a lack of trained men with initiative and interest who can be counted upon and be provided the means of conducting first-class field work with pesticides. One more factor that could retard pesticide usage abroad is the matter of safety. Contamination of food due to h a r m f u l residues, their toxicity to m a n and animals, and similar problems that industry has faced i n this country have not been taken very seriously i n many countries now importing our new pesticides. Both men and animals have been poisoned through carelessness. W e must establish confidence among those with whom we do business or with whom we cooperate, by exercising greater precautions i n demonstrating and selling our chemicals to a l l foreign customers. W e can easily lose the ground that we have gained i f we misrepresent the facts or sell inferior products at reduced prices. A grower usually attributes poor results from a given product to the material itself, even though he m a y be mistaken. H i s inability to have the product analyzed locally places h i m i n a position of great disadvantage, particularly if the product is below standard to begin with. Factors Creating a Demand Perhaps the major factor i n the present demand for pesticides is the need for greater production of food, fiber, and livestock the world over. Since most nations have been brought closer together by political and military agreements for the p u r pose of survival, we have learned that i n order to command confidence and respect, above and beyond what the power and position of the U n i t e d States may mean, we must also be able to render many kinds of assistance—military and economic a i d and technical assistance as well. The attention given by various international and government organizations to the many problems relating to agriculture, health, and education has already been of tremendous benefit to millions of people. T h e Food and A g r i c u l t u r e Organization and W o r l d H e a l t h Organization of the U n i t e d Nations, the old M u t u a l Security Agency, and the Technical Cooperation Administration of the Department of State, the F o r e i g n A g r i c u l t u r a l Service of the Department of A g r i c u l ture, the Institute of Inter-American Affairs, and more recently the F o r e i g n O p e r a tions Administration have all played a p a r t i n technical assistance. The combined efforts of these organizations have done much to increase the general acceptance of our pesticides abroad. There is little use, however, for our technical aid i n improvi n g crop and livestock production anywhere i n the world i f we neglect to impress and t r a i n native technicians i n the proper methods of defending their animals, plants, foodstuffs, and their own health against their common enemies. One outstanding example of the role of pesticides i n technical assistance is i n the control of the desert locust i n the N e a r E a s t , South A s i a , and A f r i c a . Since A p r i l 1951, when the U n i t e d States Government received a request to assist the Government of Iran i n one of its worst locust invasions i n 80 years, a locust-control



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team has been operating in six or more countries. Direct a i d given to I r a n stimulated interest and threw a new light on the locust problem. It was not long before a regional project was developed with the Department of A g r i c u l t u r e serving as the operational agency, so that assistance and control demonstrations could be conducted under bilateral agreements with all countries i n which there are F O A missions, from E t h i o p i a through the N e a r E a s t to and including India. The regional program has consisted largely of aerial spray demonstrations for locust control i n the most heavily infested areas, the training of pilots and mechanics, and some assistance i n the control of other insect pests. D u r i n g the last three seasons a total of 202,750 acres in six countries have been sprayed for the control of locusts, protecting food crops a n d pastures i n more than 2,000,000 acres. T h i s cooperative service has brought to the countries of Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Jordan, and E t h i o p i a a new method of combating locusts together with the introduction a n d demonstration of new a n d more effective insecticides. It has trained several dozen pilots to operate spray planes and encouraged countries to purchase their own planes for controlling locusts and other insects. Plant-protection organizations have developed greater interest i n insect control, which has made possible larger appropriations from local governments for control work. Its results have brought hope and encouragement for increased plantings without fear of heavy losses caused by locusts. T h i s coordination of efforts of the various nations has contributed to progress i n international cooperation through the F A O and other groups interested in the welfare and food production i n the countries involved. These combined efforts i n locust control have made possible the planning of demonstrations on the control of many other destructive insects by U . S. technicians. P a r t of their work will be to demonstrate the use of new insecticides on sugar cane, rice, wheat, cotton, and olives. Some countries of the N e a r E a s t and South A s i a have already begun placing orders for new pesticides, and large scale aerial spraying operations are expected soon to be a common sight in some areas. A m o n g the objectives of this new program will be the encouragement of insect control through demonstrations of improved cultural practices, the use of cheaper and more effective insecticides, and the proper use of appropriate spray and dust equipment. It will also develop organized crop pest-control programs, demonstrate and establish efficient field organization, and institute survey and reporting services f o r appraising major insect problems, including locusts. Entomologists in technical-cooperation missions in L a t i n A m e r i c a and several other countries i n the E a s t e r n Hemisphere are also contributing to the more general use of pesticides. F o r the first time in some countries insect control is being organized on a scientific, practical basis. A n important phase of their work is the training of nationals. Y o u n g assistants with necessary background are given onthe-job training both in the laboratory and in the field. T h e better qualified and experienced individuals are given opportunity to seek advanced training i n the U n i t e d States, where they m a y spend from several months to a year or more in colleges and experiment stations, as well as visiting manufacturers of pesticides and f a r m equipment. The work of the mission entomologists abroad should be of vital interest to the pesticide industry. These men are conducting a real two-way program. They are interested not only i n controlling the pests but in demonstrating our many effective pesticides. They have already obtained some striking results in controlling pests of potatoes, citrus, cotton, coffee, sugar cane, and livestock. They are developing interest abroad and proving to the small grower, as well as to the large, that insects can be controlled economically. W o r k i n g together with extension specialists more than 9000 persons attended 88 insect-control demonstrations i n three provinces i n Bolivia during A p r i l 1954. W o r k of this nature will produce long-lasting results i n terms of good will, self-sufficiency, and the ability of a country to import pesticides. It can then grow crops and livestock and not be forced to import foodstuffs that it can produce in surplus, if its agricultural problems are analyzed and properly dealt with. Technical assistance that aims toward teaching both technician and farmer how to protect what is grown is only a small part of the assistance provided in the field


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of agriculture. Health and education must also be considered. A l l are interdependent. Whatever is done must be organized and carried out i n a w a y that will guarantee a balanced program. Where health problems are vital in any agricultural community, they must be dealt with i f a goal has been set to increase food production. Pesticides required to fight malaria and other insect-borne diseases have played an important part in helping to build better international relations, which i n t u r n affect international trade negotiations. W i t h the improvement i n agricultural practices and health and living conditions, farmers the world over will be demanding more of everything. Increased purchasing power will enable them to obtain their pesticides abroad i f local industry cannot fill the demand.


Developing Foreign Markets F o r many years the pesticide industry seemed slow i n taking the initiative to promote a stronger export market. T e n or fifteen years ago it did not have the wide variety of products to offer that are now available. Little effort was made to expand or strengthen its position. T h e contacts between the exporter of pesticides and the importers and officials of foreign governments were not conducive to the gaining of new markets. Business in the foreign markets did not flourish. In contrast to the situation of a decade ago, the pesticide industry today has assumed a much greater responsibility i n supplying its products both i n this country and abroad. Manufacturers have sent picked men abroad—not mere salesmen, but men trained i n the sciences who are helpful i n many ways. In fostering better public relations, these men build good will. T h e foreigner confides i n them more easily and is less likely to doubt them or the products they sell. Private chemical companies i n their support of research are promoting grants to students working on tropical problems abroad. T h e y have been very generous i n offering sample chemicals to various programs. T h r o u g h the medium of international meetings, tropical pesticide problems become much better understood. Those in government appreciate the cooperation of the chemist, the manufacturer, and the exporter i n meeting specifications and supplying the chemical products used i n its overseas programs. Some of these programs would not have been successful without this cooperation. Good working relationships between industry and government are just as important abroad as they are at home i n a r r i v i n g at the goals both are striving f o r . Pest control will continue to be one of the most important weapons in the great fight against poverty and hunger. A g r i c u l t u r a l improvement will require it every bit as much i n the tropics as elsewhere. W e can be hopeful i n looking forward to interesting changes as people become more able and willing to fight a winning struggle. Pesticides and the equipment to apply them will become as valuable to the small f a r m e r as his machete and his hoe. L e t us all hope that the pesticide i n dustry will not f a i l to meet his demands. RECEIVED

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Factors Influencing the Demand for Pesticides in Tropical Agriculture

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