Pesticide exposure, health impacts, predeterminism, and health insurance demand among Pakistani farmers: Implications for policy

The indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides, regardless of pest infestation, is widespread in the developing world to mitigate agricultural losses. Farmers face significant health risks from pesticides, yet indemnity provision is often neglected in policy discussions. Socio-cultural factors, inclu...

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Autores principales: Muhammad Arshad, Yasir Mehmood, Aravindakshan, Sreejith, Ullah, Ayat, Sieber, Stefan, Krupnik, Timothy Joseph
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174893
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author Muhammad Arshad
Yasir Mehmood
Aravindakshan, Sreejith
Ullah, Ayat
Sieber, Stefan
Krupnik, Timothy Joseph
author_browse Aravindakshan, Sreejith
Krupnik, Timothy Joseph
Muhammad Arshad
Sieber, Stefan
Ullah, Ayat
Yasir Mehmood
author_facet Muhammad Arshad
Yasir Mehmood
Aravindakshan, Sreejith
Ullah, Ayat
Sieber, Stefan
Krupnik, Timothy Joseph
author_sort Muhammad Arshad
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides, regardless of pest infestation, is widespread in the developing world to mitigate agricultural losses. Farmers face significant health risks from pesticides, yet indemnity provision is often neglected in policy discussions. Socio-cultural factors, including religion and trust in governments, can influence indemnity demand, especially among religious communities. However, little to no attention has been given to religious predeterminism and public trust in indemnity service design. We employed a novel approach integrating count data models with contingent valuation to analyze the health impacts of pesticide use and influence of socioeconomic factors, particularly religious predeterminism and public trust, on health insurance demand among farmers in rural Pakistan. Results reveal critical health risks posed by pesticide use among farmers and highlight the limited willingness to pay for health insurance to mitigate these risks. Findings from the Negative Binomial (NB) regression model showed significant positive effects of pesticide quantity (β = 0.607, p < 0.05), WHO Class IA-and-IB pesticides (β = 0.420, p < 0.05), and WHO Class II pesticides (β = 0.277, p < 0.05) on farmers' health. Religious predeterminism and public trust significantly influence farmers' willingness to pay, with only about 27 % of farmers expressing readiness to pay an average of US$4.02 per annum for health insurance. These findings emphasize the importance of tailored health insurance designs that accommodate religious beliefs. Policy initiatives should focus on educating farmers about safe pesticide use and health insurance benefits. Governments can build public trust through subsidized insurance schemes to reduce farmers' out-of-pocket health expenses. The findings emphasize the role of socio-cultural factors, in shaping insurance uptake, suggesting that health insurance policies must be tailored to align with farmers’ belief systems. Government-led initiatives, including subsidized insurance schemes, are essential to enhance public trust, foster safe farming practices, and support sustainable agriculture.
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spelling CGSpace1748932025-12-08T09:54:28Z Pesticide exposure, health impacts, predeterminism, and health insurance demand among Pakistani farmers: Implications for policy Muhammad Arshad Yasir Mehmood Aravindakshan, Sreejith Ullah, Ayat Sieber, Stefan Krupnik, Timothy Joseph occupational hazards human health contingent valuation health insurance policies The indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides, regardless of pest infestation, is widespread in the developing world to mitigate agricultural losses. Farmers face significant health risks from pesticides, yet indemnity provision is often neglected in policy discussions. Socio-cultural factors, including religion and trust in governments, can influence indemnity demand, especially among religious communities. However, little to no attention has been given to religious predeterminism and public trust in indemnity service design. We employed a novel approach integrating count data models with contingent valuation to analyze the health impacts of pesticide use and influence of socioeconomic factors, particularly religious predeterminism and public trust, on health insurance demand among farmers in rural Pakistan. Results reveal critical health risks posed by pesticide use among farmers and highlight the limited willingness to pay for health insurance to mitigate these risks. Findings from the Negative Binomial (NB) regression model showed significant positive effects of pesticide quantity (β = 0.607, p < 0.05), WHO Class IA-and-IB pesticides (β = 0.420, p < 0.05), and WHO Class II pesticides (β = 0.277, p < 0.05) on farmers' health. Religious predeterminism and public trust significantly influence farmers' willingness to pay, with only about 27 % of farmers expressing readiness to pay an average of US$4.02 per annum for health insurance. These findings emphasize the importance of tailored health insurance designs that accommodate religious beliefs. Policy initiatives should focus on educating farmers about safe pesticide use and health insurance benefits. Governments can build public trust through subsidized insurance schemes to reduce farmers' out-of-pocket health expenses. The findings emphasize the role of socio-cultural factors, in shaping insurance uptake, suggesting that health insurance policies must be tailored to align with farmers’ belief systems. Government-led initiatives, including subsidized insurance schemes, are essential to enhance public trust, foster safe farming practices, and support sustainable agriculture. 2025-06 2025-05-30T22:42:17Z 2025-05-30T22:42:17Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174893 en Open Access application/pdf Elsevier Arshad, M., Mehmood, Y., Aravindakshan, S., Ullah, A., Sieber, S., & Krupnik, T. J. (2025). Pesticide exposure, health impacts, predeterminism, and health insurance demand among Pakistani farmers: Implications for policy. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 21, 101905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2025.101905
spellingShingle occupational hazards
human health
contingent valuation
health insurance
policies
Muhammad Arshad
Yasir Mehmood
Aravindakshan, Sreejith
Ullah, Ayat
Sieber, Stefan
Krupnik, Timothy Joseph
Pesticide exposure, health impacts, predeterminism, and health insurance demand among Pakistani farmers: Implications for policy
title Pesticide exposure, health impacts, predeterminism, and health insurance demand among Pakistani farmers: Implications for policy
title_full Pesticide exposure, health impacts, predeterminism, and health insurance demand among Pakistani farmers: Implications for policy
title_fullStr Pesticide exposure, health impacts, predeterminism, and health insurance demand among Pakistani farmers: Implications for policy
title_full_unstemmed Pesticide exposure, health impacts, predeterminism, and health insurance demand among Pakistani farmers: Implications for policy
title_short Pesticide exposure, health impacts, predeterminism, and health insurance demand among Pakistani farmers: Implications for policy
title_sort pesticide exposure health impacts predeterminism and health insurance demand among pakistani farmers implications for policy
topic occupational hazards
human health
contingent valuation
health insurance
policies
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174893
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