Pesticide avoidance: Results from a Sri Lankan study with health policy implications

In this chapter the contingent valuation method is used to estimate the yearly value to an average farmer in Sri Lanka of avoiding direct exposure to pesticides and the resulting illnesses. The costs are shown to be high. The pesticide cost scenarios calculated from the contingent valuation bids for the entire country show that the costs run into millions of Sri Lankan rupees each year. The last section of the paper identifies the factors that influence the willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid direct exposure to pesticides and the resulting illnesses. The health policy implications stemming from the regression analysis are also discussed.