The Costs and Benefits of Pesticide Use in the UK and Kenya


Paul Cross, University of Wales, Bangor

Link to project: Comparative Merits of Consuming Vegetables Produced Locally and Overseas


Background and Aims: Pesticides continue to be used in most food production systems around the world. Within the UK their use is tightly regulated, but in many developing countries the situation is very different due to lower levels of technology, relatively weak regulatory systems and a low level of awareness of pesticide related hazards (Mwanthi & Kimani 1993). However, many developing countries are increasingly dependent on exporting produce to developed countries, and there is often a need to use pesticides in these exported-orientated production systems (Prakash 2002). When viewed from a global scale it could be that the marginal external cost of using pesticides is smaller in developed than developing countries. If this were true then UK consumers would effectively be exporting their production related problems, and this would seem to pose an ethical dilemma for consumers, Governments and many actors in the food industry.

Overall Aim: Against this background the overall aim of this studentship is to undertake a comparative assessment of the role of pesticides in horticultural systems in a developed economy (UK) and a developing economy (Kenya) in order to understand the relative costs and benefits of pesticide use in these two countries.

Specific aims: The specific aims of the work are to:

  • Undertake a risk assessment of pesticide use in typical horticultural rotations in the UK and Kenya.
  • Assess the health of agricultural and horticultural workers in UK and Kenya.
  • Consider the importance of pesticides to workers on a range of typical horticultural enterprises in terms of its contribution to their livelihoods.
  • Estimate the consequences of pesticide related ill-health on workers and their families.
  • Estimate the social costs of pesticide related ill-health.
  • Compare individual and social costs and benefits of pesticide use in UK and Kenyan horticulture.