An Economic Evaluation of Integrated Pest Management Practices in English Cabbage Production in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Anxieties about negative effects of pesticide use in developing countries have motivated the development of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs in these countries. In Malaysia, the IPM collaborative research support program (CRSP) was established to specifically address the widespread misuse of pesticides in cabbage vegetable cultivation in Cameron Highlands, one of the major vegetable producing regions in the country. IPM adaptations in cabbage production initiatives include research on the optimal use of pesticides, complementary weed control strategies, and alternative cultural and biological controls. The program would generate benefits that can be measured in economic terms. These benefits include improvements in water quality, food safety, pesticide application safety, and long run sustainability of pest management systems. This study aims to measure the health and environmental benefits of the IPM programs in cabbage cultivation in Cameron Highlands. A primary data collection from 102 cabbage farmers in three zones of Cameron Highlands was undertaken to identify farm and farmer characteristics, pesticide usage, pest management practices, perceptions about pesticide hazards, awareness of IPM strategies, and willingness to adopt specific technologies being developed under the IPM program. In addition, a contingent valuation survey was used to evaluate farmers’ willingness-to-pay to avoid risks of pesticides use in different environmental categories namely human, beneficial insects, aquatic life, birds, and farm animals. A comprehensive measure of the benefits of the IPM program was undertaken by 1) identifying the hazards related to pesticide usage, 2) providing an ex ante measure of program impacts on pesticide usage, 3) predicting IPM adoption rates, and 4) estimating society’s willingness-to-pay to avoid health and environmental risks from pesticides under Malaysian conditions. An estimate of the amount of risks avoided because of IPM adoption was combined with farmers’ willingness to pay bids for risk avoidance to derive a monetary value of the program benefits. The estimated economic benefits of the IPM to farmer residents in the three zones in Cameron Highlands amounted to RM 33,354 for one Cabbage season.

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