From Pesticides to People 85Most insecticides and fungicides come as liquids or wettable powders and are
applied by mixing with water and using a backpack sprayer. Given the costs associ-
ated with spraying, farmers usually combine several products together in mixtures
known locally as cocktails, applying all on a single pass through the field. On aver-
age, each parcel receives more than seven applications with 2.5 insecticides and/or
fungicides in each application (Crissman et al, 1998a). Some farmers reported as
many as seven products in a single concoction. On many occasions different com-
mercial products were mixed containing the same active ingredient or different
active ingredients intended for the same type of control. Women and very young
children typically did not apply pesticides: among the 2250 applications that we
documented, women made only four.
Product and application costs together account for about one-third of all pro-
duction costs among the small and medium producers in the region. The benefit
to yields (and revenues) from using pesticides exceeded the additional costs of
using them (including only direct production costs such as inputs and labour but
not the costs of externalities). Nevertheless, Crissman et al (1998a) found that
farmers lost money in four of ten harvests, largely due to potato price fluctuations
and price increases in industrial technologies, particularly mechanized land prepa-
ration, fertilizers and pesticides, that combined can represent 60 per cent of overall
production outlays. Unforeseen ecological consequences on natural pest control
mechanisms, in particular parasitoids and predators in the case of insect pests and
selective pressure on Phytophtora infestans in the case of disease, raises further ques-
tions about the real returns on pesticides (Frolich et al, 2000). As we shall see,
long-term profitability of pesticide use is even more questionable when associated
human health costs to applicators and their families are taken into account.
Pesticide Exposure and Health Effects
Based on survey, observational and interview data, the majority of pesticides are
bought by commercial names. Only a small minority of farmers reported receiving
information on pesticide hazards and safe practices from vendors (Espinosa et al,
2003). Pesticide storage is usually relatively brief (days to weeks) but occurs close
to farmhouses because of fear of robbery. Farmers usually mix pesticides in large
barrels without gloves, resulting in considerable dermal exposure (Merino and
Cole, 2003). Farmers and, on larger farms, day labourers apply pesticides using
backpack sprayers on hilly terrain. Few use personal protective equipment (PPE)
for a variety of reasons, including social pressure (e.g. masculinity has become tied
to the ability to withstand pesticide intoxications), and the limited availability and
high cost of equipment. As a result, pesticide exposure is high. During pesticide
applications, most farmers wet their skin, in particular the back (73 per cent of
respondents) and hands (87 per cent) (Espinosa et al, 2003). Field exposure trials
using patch-monitoring techniques showed that considerable dermal deposition