Revisiting the Environmental Kuznets Curve: Evidence from Pesticide Use in 12 Agriculture-Oriented Asian Countries

Pesticides have become a lifesaver for millions of smallholder farmers, protecting crops from weeds, snails, and other pests and diseases, which could be a potential factor for an increase in pesticide use. The study addresses a research gap by examining whether the economic growth of agriculture-oriented Asian countries has reduced pesticide use over the decades. Additionally, the study identifies countries in which further economic growth reduces pesticide consumption. The study employed the EKC framework in its methodology to investigate 12 Asian countries that placed significant emphasis on the agricultural sector between 2000 and 2022. The study used panel data to estimate OLS, fixed-effects, random-effects, and the Driscoll-Kraay approaches to establish robust findings despite heteroscedasticity, serial correlation, and other issues. In short, Driscoll-Kraay's method identifies an inverted-U-shaped EKC between economic growth and pesticide use. The coefficient for lnGDP per capita is 2.169 at 5% significance level, and the coefficient for the squared-lnGDP per capita is -0.206 at 1% significance level. Overall, farmers increase their use of pesticides, including herbicides and fungicides, during the early stages of economic growth. Once turning points are reached, farmers reduce pesticide spraying as the economy starts improving. The gender variable for females indicates that female participation in the agriculture sector reduces pesticide use by approximately 0.03 tons annually. However, the study claims that further economic growth, agricultural land expansion, and increased food production will lead to increased pesticide use among farmers in 12 Asian countries. Meanwhile, country-specific estimates indicate a significant inverted-U-shaped EKC for countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. This finding suggests that farmers may gradually reduce pesticide use. On the other hand, estimations identify a significant U-shaped EKC for Lao, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. This suggests that farmers might increase pesticide use in the future. Sustainable development in Asian countries' agricultural sectors is essential for expanding agricultural exports to global markets and reducing the harmful and excessive use of pesticides. Asian governments should provide training and incentives for encouraging farmers to adopt integrated pest management and biopesticides.