Who makes pesticide use decisions: Implications for policymakers

This paper presents the findings of a recent survey investigating the contributions of various agents at different stages in the food production chain to decisions on pest management and pesticide use. It identifies those links that affect pest management practices and describes the types of impacts they have. It also investigates how the patter of pesticide decision making varies across agricultural industries and regions. The analysis is mostly limited to California fruits and vegetables. Since California is the largest agricultural state and the major producer of many of the fruits and vegetables sold nationally, pest management choices in California have significant impact outside the state. Furthermore, we postulate that some of the generalizations derived from California data apply to other regions.