Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2022) 29:22785–22797

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-18843-6

TREND EDITORIAL

Towards safer use of pesticides in Chile

Jessica Coria1 · Sebastian Elgueta2

Received: 2 July 2021 / Accepted: 20 January 2022 / Published online: 31 January 2022
© The Author(s) 2022

Introduction controlling pesticide use, along with the rising demand for
better controls. It is well acknowledged that the overuse of
The use of pesticides for pest and disease control has pesticide is a global problem. The analysis of the Chilean
increased agricultural production worldwide, but has also case brings light on the type of regulatory improvements
led to increased negative impacts on land use, the environ- that are needed towards a safer use of pesticides in many
ment, and human exposure to various pesticide residues countries that, like Chile, are heavily dependent on the agri-
(Wilson and Tisdell 2001). Another important external cultural sector.
effect is the unintended destruction of beneficial predators of Our study is based on the analysis of secondary data and
pests, increasing the virulence of many types of agricultural of existing national regulations. International regulations are
pests. The economic costs of pesticide use have been greatly also discussed as a benchmark for pesticide use. Finally,
underestimated in the past. For example, Bourguet and Guil- available literature on pesticide pollution in Chile and on
lemaud (2016) evaluated the benefit–cost ratio of pesticide strategies to reduce pesticide use are used to characterize
use in the past in different countries; their results suggest the current situation and to draw recommendations on how
that the costs of pesticide use may have already exceeded to improve the effectiveness of current regulations.
its benefits. However, despite the high social costs, farmers Indeed, we focus on the case of Chile, a large producer
continue to use pesticides, and in increasing amounts in most of agricultural crops, because evidence points to a high
countries (Schreinemachers and Tipraqsa 2012). rate of pesticide use in comparison with other countries.
Several studies have indicated that pesticide use has For instance, pesticide sales in OECD countries averaged
increased rapidly as countries prioritize overall food pro- 0.93 kg/ha in the 2011–2015 period. In contrast, pesticide
duction over food safety and environmental concerns; as a sales per hectare in Chile corresponded to 2.68 kg/ha (see
result, pesticide regulations are often too weak to have a OECD/FAO 2019). The current pesticide registration in
significant effect (see, for example, Lefebvre et al. 2015 and Chile covers more than 500 active ingredients and around
Grovermann et al. 2017). Yet, there are very few studies that 1300 formulations (SAG 2021).
look at the actual regulation of pesticides. This work contrib- Currently, the only regulation for the control of pesti-
utes to such literature by analyzing the case of Chile, whose cide residues is related to food products, which is adopted
agricultural sector has experienced rapid export-led growth from the International CODEX Alimentarius. In Chile,
and progressive increase in the pesticide sector. Studying environmental matrices such as air, soil, water for irriga-
Chile’s experience allows us to discuss the challenges of tion, or human consumption are not regulated or monitored
for pesticide residues levels. Nevertheless, empirical aca-
demic studies report that water bodies in agricultural areas
Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues
present elevated levels of several pesticides (Retamal et al.
* Jessica Coria 2013; Montory et al. 2017; Climent et al. 2018, 2019). For
[email protected] instance, high concentrations of organochloride pesticides
Sebastian Elgueta have been found despite they have been banned in Chile in
[email protected] accordance with international conventions such as Rotter-
dam and Stockholm (e.g., endosulfan and lindane; see, e.g.,
1
Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg, Montory et al. 2017). Organochloride pesticides found in
Gothenburg, Sweden
Chilean surface waters have been banned in developed coun-
2
Núcleo de Investigaciones Aplicadas en Ciencias Veterinarias tries since the mid-1970s due to their persistence and signifi-
Y Agronómicas, Universidad de Las Americas, Sede
Providencia, Santiago, Chile cant potential for bioaccumulation. The high concentrations

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22786 Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2022) 29:22785–22797

observed in water bodies in agricultural areas in Chile can where small-scale labor-intense farms coexist alongside a
be explained by their high persistence in the environment, large-scale commercial farm sector. According to the last
but it is also possible that they are still being used despite National Agricultural and Livestock Census (2007), more
having been banned. than 70% of farms are considered smaller than 20 ha, while
Furthermore, high concentrations of residues of pesti- over 20% range between 20 and 100 ha and 7.6% are larger
cides such as methamidophos, azoxystrobin, cypermethrin, than 100 ha (ODEPA 2019). Furthermore, family farms
carbendazim, chlorpyrifos, cyfluthrin, and lambda-cyhalo- (which represent approximately 90% of the total farms) con-
thrin have been found in leafy vegetables in some of the tribute a significant share of total farm output, particularly
regions of the country (see, e.g., Elgueta et al. 2017, 2019, in horticultural products for domestic consumption (ODEPA
and 2020). In addition, high concentrations of residues of 2019).
pesticides such as iprodione and spinosad A and D have The agricultural sector makes an important contribution
been detected in frozen vegetables from domestic markets to exports, with agro-food exports accounting for 16.4% of
in Chile (see, e.g., Concha-Meyer et al. 2019). The wide- total exports of the economy. Chile is a net exporter of agro-
spread use of organophosphate pesticides in agriculture, food products with a net trade surplus of USD 5 billion in
their largely unrestricted sales, and insufficient knowledge of 2017 (OECD-FAO 2019). The fruit sector is a major con-
their proper application and risks have also resulted in acute tributor to the development of exports; more than 60% of
intoxications (see, e.g., Ramírez-Santana et al. 2014) and national fruit production in most species is exported.
chronic health effects in agricultural and non-agricultural The “boom” in Chilean agriculture has, however, caused
workers, as well as in school children in rural areas (see, a progressive growth of imports of pesticides, which rose by
e.g., Muñoz-Quezada et al. 2012 and 2017). Evidence on 48% in the decade of the 1990s (Vallebuona Stagno 2015).
the negative effects of pesticides thus suggests that there is This increase in pesticide use occurred in an unregulated
a clear need for policies and strategies to reduce pesticide environment of free sale and easy access, accompanied by
use and their impacts on human health and the environment. a lack of knowledge of pesticide use and their impact on
The manuscript is organized as follows: “Pesticide use in human health and the environment (Vallebuona Stagno
Chile” describes the use of pesticides in Chile, presenting 2015). Figure 1 presents the total pesticide trade from 1960
statistics on agricultural activity, imports, and the number to 2015. The total imports of pesticide by Chile amounted to
of registered pesticides in use, and how many are banned or US$ 310,515 million in 2015, almost three times larger than
severely restricted in other countries. “Factors explaining the values of the imports in 2000, suggesting a very rapid
high rates of pesticide use” discusses possible explanations growth in the intensity of pesticide use.
for the high rates of pesticide use. “Conclusions” concludes Indeed, as shown in Fig. 2, pesticide use (measured by
with a discussion of strategies to reduce pesticide use and tones of active ingredients) and agricultural production
reduce the risk to the public and the environment. (measured by a crop production index that reports the level
of annual production compared to the period 2004–2006)
have increased sharply and steadily (i.e., in 2015, six times
Pesticide use in Chile more pesticide was used than in 1990) while the share of
total land devoted to agricultural activities has remained
Since the 1960s, Chilean agriculture has experienced rapid, quite stable during the same period (i.e., about 21% of the
increasingly diversified, export-led economic growth. The total land is used in agricultural activities). This is to say,
growth of the agricultural sector is evidenced by the increase pesticide use increased more than proportionally to land use
in agricultural GDP, from 2.7% between 1963 and 1982 to intensity; regressing pesticide use on the crop production
5.6% between 1983 and 2007, making it one of the pillars index suggests that a 1.0% increase in the crop production
of the national export structure (INE 2007). The average index is associated with a 2.37% increase in pesticide use
value of the agricultural GDP in 2017 corresponded to (p-value < 0.00 and R2 = 0.76).
4.2%, slightly above the average value of the agricultural Sales of pesticides are concentrated in the central part of
GDP worldwide, which is 3.5%. Even if as a percentage the country due to the intense farming and forestry activ-
of national GDP, the primary agricultural sector might ity that takes place between the Chacabuco Range in the
seem small, the extended agricultural GDP of agriculture north and the Biobío River in the south. For instance, out of
increases to 14.36% when considering backward and for- 38,864 tones/L of pesticides sold in Chile in 2012, 30,643
ward linkages with other activities (ODEPA 2019). tones/L (about 78.8%) were sold in the central area of Chile
Furthermore, agriculture accounts for 9.3% of employ- (SAG 2012).
ment, constituting one of the most important economic Until December 2020, there were more than 1300 plan
activities in terms of job creation, particularly in rural areas. protection products (PPPs) authorized in Chile, classi-
Chilean Agriculture is characterized by a dual structure, fied as Series 1000 (insecticide), 2000 (fungicide), 3000

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Fig. 1  Total pesticide trade,

import and export values
Pesticide Trade: Import and Export Value
1960–2015. Source: FAOSTAT
2018
350000
300000
250000
200000

1000 US$
150000
100000
50000
0

1961
1964
1967
1970
1973
1976
1979
1982
1985
1988
1991
1994
1997
2000

2006
2009
2012
2015
2003
Year
Import Value Export Value

50000 120

%Total Land/Crop Production Index

45000 110
100
Tonnes active ingredients

40000
90
35000
80
30000 70
25000 60
20000 50
40
15000
30
10000
20
5000 10
0 0
2002
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015

Pesticides Use Agricultural land (% of Total Land) Crop Production Index

Fig. 2  Pesticide use vs. crop production and agricultural land 1990–2016. Source: FAOSTAT 2018

(herbicide), and 4000 (other), containing more than 580 Moreover, there are around 28 active substances of pesti-
active substances (SAG 2021). Out of the total authorized cides prohibited for use in Chile. The last ones were for-
products, 29.7% are locally manufactured while the rest are bidden in 2011 (i.e., pentachlorobenzene, endosulfan,
imported (Economic Diplomacy Division, MEA 2018). and alachlor) and in July 2019 (i.e., methamidophos and
Several of the authorized substances cannot be legally used chlorpyrifos).
in developed countries. This is the case for paraquat, car- As shown in Table 2, in 2018, most imports of insec-
bofuran, permethrin, brodifacoum, tetramethrin, and feni- ticides, fungicides, and herbicides (which correspond to
trothion, which have been banned due to their hazardous the main imports’ categories) came from Argentina, USA,
effects on human health and the environment (see Table 1). China, and Brazil. As shown in the table, in general, the

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Table 1  Known effects of pesticides authorized in Chile and prohibited in other countries
Pesticide Type Countries where Known health and environmental impacts
pesticide is
banned

Paraquat Herbicide EU, South Korea Parkinson’s Disease (Spivey 2011), Suicides (Cha et al. 2016)
Carbofuran Insecticide EU, Canada Potential Endocrine Disruptor (Goad et al. 2004)
Permethrin Insecticide EU Neurotoxic effects (Abou-Donia 1996), toxic to honey bees, fish, aquatic insects, crayfish, and
shrimp (Brander et al. 2016)
Brodifacoum Insecticide EU Lethal to birds (Hoare and Hare 2006)
Tetramethrin Insecticide EU Causes restlessness, hyperexcitation, prostration, body tremors, and repetitive nerve discharges
(Palmquist et al. 2012)
Fenitrothion Insecticide EU Toxic to aquatic organims, extremly toxic to honey bee and non-target arthropods (Calatayud-
Vermich 2018)

Table 2  Imports of pesticides Country Insecticides Fungicides Herbicides

by country in 2018
kg US/kg kg US/kg kg US/kg
Argentina 4,111,602 2.2 43,666 28.7 4,325,860 3.9
USA 488,987 27.1 3,263,391 4.9 464,648 16.2
China 1,521,650 4.3 523,486 2.4 2,313,312 3.6
Brazil 128,350 18.0 312,682 16.1 1,184,450 5.0
France 37,705 59.0 357,803 24.3 620,127 16.7
Israel 179,782 6.8 420,708 9.9 475,326 6.2
Germany 142,481 62.3 218,053 28.2 456,268 25.1
Colombia 381,611 12.1 455,348 25.4 179,156 18.2
UK 33,314 145.3 95,675 50.0 432,202 3.2
Spain 16,766 47.9 479,336 7.3 – –
India 35,135 6.5 371,023 3.0 – –
Japan 154,194 84.9 87,072 17.9 14,142 69.5
Belgium 2016 50.2 209,175 10.6 44,307 5.7

Source: Elaborated from data provided by ODEPA (Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies)

volume imported from a country is inversely correlated Table 3  Country of origin of selected pesticides
to the average price of the products. In the case of insec- Pesticide Countries from which pesti-
ticides, products imported from Argentina and China are cide is imported
the cheapest among all insecticides imported. Likewise,
Paraquat Brazil, Chile, China, UK
fungicides from the USA and China are among the cheap-
Carbofuran Brazil, USA
est of all fungicides imported, and the same holds for
Permethrin Brazil, USA, China
herbicides (of which large amounts are imported from
Brodifacoum Brazil, Chile, Hungary
Argentina and China).
Methamidophos Argentina, Chile, China, USA
Thus, the evidence presented in Table 2 is consistent
with a large volume of imports of low-cost products Source: Elaborated from the SAG registry of pesticides authorized in
from a few countries, including Argentina, the USA, Chile
and China. This is confirmed by evidence provided in
Table 3, which reports the country of origin of selected Pesticides prohibited and presence of residues
imported pesticides for which high concentrations have in food
been found in water adjacent to agricultural land or in
agricultural products. Legislation on the marketing and use of PPPs is laid down
by Decree Law No. 3557 of 1980. The resolutions for the

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implementation of this law include requirements for the unauthorized pesticides. Slightly higher levels of compliance
authorizations of PPPs and obligations for retailers of PPPs were observed in the samples of fruit taken in 2016. Among
to report their sales, as well as any stocks of products with the evaluated samples of fresh vegetables, the highest MRLs
expired shelf life (European Commission 2009). exceedance rate was identified for methamidophos, linu-
Regarding the presence of residues in food and the envi- ron, chlorothalonil, acetamiprid, and dithiocarbamate (see
ronment, in Chile, the pesticide maximum residue levels Fig. 3).
(MRLs) are adopted from Codex Alimentarius, based on More than 60% of fresh vegetables consumed in Chile are
the USA and Europe, and were established by Resolution distributed through local street markets, which may explain
No. 581 of 1999 of the Ministry of Health, later replaced the lack of food safety enforcement. Data reported by the
and updated by Resolutions 33/10 and 762 of 2011 of the RIAL program show a recurrent presence of pesticide resi-
Ministry of Health. dues in fresh vegetables, suggesting that Chilean consumers
Article 34 of Decree Law No. 3557 established that the are regularly exposed to the acute and chronic toxic effects
Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG)—under the Min- of pesticides such as methamidophos, chlorothalonil, and
istry of Agriculture—is the competent authority for authori- methomyl through food consumption. Evidence presented by
zation, importation, manufacture, distribution, sale, and use RIAL (2018, 2019, and 2020) is also consistent with studies
of PPPs and control of their marketing and use, and that produced by the Chilean Institute for Agricultural Research
SAG can confiscate or forbid the movement and sale of fruit (INIA). For example, Elgueta et al. (2017) quantified the
and vegetables containing pesticide residues above the legal concentration of pesticide residues in leafy vegetables in
limits or pesticides not authorized for the crops. In contrast, 118 samples of lettuce, chard, and spinach collected in 2015
the Ministry of Health is the competent authority, through in three north-central regions of Chile. Their results showed
the National Institute of Public Health (ISP), for checking that 27% of the total samples contained residues above the
compliance with MRLs for fruits and vegetables sold on the MRLs. Their study also concluded that methamidophos is
domestic market, including retailers and local street markets. the pesticide with the greatest acute health risk to the popu-
Each ministry has its own surveillance system to evaluate lation. In addition, Elgueta et al. (2019) collected 53 sam-
the agricultural use of pesticides and the impacts of pesticide ples of leafy vegetables from markets in Santiago, Chile, to
residues on human health. Thus, there is no unified national assess the health risk due to pesticide residues. Pesticides
surveillance system. such as carbendazim, chlorpyrifos, cyfluthrin, lambda-
The Ministry of Agriculture monitors pesticide residues cyhalothrin, and methamidophos were frequently detected
in food through the Chilean Agency for Safety and Food in their samples. Of the total samples evaluated, 11% had
Quality (ACHIPIA). This agency is in charge of the Infor- residues above the Chilean MRLs. Similar results were also
mation Network and Food Alerts program (RIAL), which found for fresh tomatoes and lettuce grown in the Metropoli-
started in 2011. The last official RIAL report published in tana Region (Elgueta et al. 2020), where 16% of 80 samples
2020 presented the results of 1306 samples of fresh veg- were found to have pesticide residues above Chilean MRLs.
etables (407) and fruits (899) taken in 2018. The sampling For comparison, the annual reports available at the European
is carried out across all of Chile by inspectors from SAG. Food Safety Authority show that exceedance of MRLs in
Among the samples of vegetables evaluated, almost 19% of Europe in 2013 only occurred in 2.6% of the cases (EFSA
the vegetables exceeded the MRLs, while almost 9% con- 2015). Existing evidence thus indicates a much higher risk
tained unauthorized pesticides (see Table 4). A low level for the Chilean population compared to Europe.
of compliance was also observed in the report published in In contrast, Chile’s system for monitoring pesticide
2019 (with samples taken in 2017), where almost 17% of the residues in agricultural exports shows a very high rate of
vegetables exceeded the MRLs, and almost 7% contained compliance. For example, in 2009–2010, SAG took 1639

Table 4  Results of sampling of vegetables and fruits under the RIAL program 2016, 2017, and 2018
Year Total sample Total sample Fresh vegetables Fresh fruits
vegetables fruits
% samples > MRL % samples with unau- % samples > MRL % samples with
thorized pesticides unauthorized pes-
ticides

2018 407 899 18.6% 8.6% 1.20% 2.70%

2017 485 1103 16.9% 6.8% 1.09% 3.45%
2016 781 1175 13.7% 4.1% 0.77% 2.21%

Source: RIAL (2018, 2019, 2020)

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22790 Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2022) 29:22785–22797

Transgression >MRL 50 4443

40 36

30
20 15
11 9
10 78 8
5 533
2 2 3 4
1 353 4
1 341 13 33
0

>MRLs 2016 >MRLs 2017 >MRLs 2018

Fig. 3  Notifications in Chile by pesticide related to their maximum residue level (MRLs) and pesticide prohibited for fresh vegetables. Source:
RIAL (2018, 2019, 2020)

samples of vegetables to be exported. Of these samples, largest number of cases, totalling more than 83%. Suicide
99% complied with MRLs and used only approved pesti- and suicide attempts make up around 17% of the total cases
cides. Similar numbers were observed in 2011 for exported (REVEP 2019).
vegetables and in 2012 for exported fruits (see SAG 2011, Table 5 reports the number of cases of acute pesticide
SAG 2012, and SAG 2013). The fact that high levels of pes- poisonings by active ingredient. As shown in the table, the
ticide residues are found mainly in products intended to be use of cypermethrin, chlorpyrifos, lamba-cyhalotrin, metha-
consumed domestically indicates a lack of monitoring and midophos, diazinon, alpha-cypermethrin, glyphosate, azin-
enforcement within Chile. phosmethyl, brifacoum, deltamethrin, methomyl, and para-
quat account for almost 50% of all acute pesticide poisonings
Occupational, non‑occupational, and environmental in the period 2008–2018 in Chile. Considering all statistics
effects of pesticides during this period, 35.5% of deaths were caused by pesti-
cides Ia and Ib (REVEP 2019). These insecticides are highly
Regulation of occupational exposure to pesticides in Chile efficient, low cost, and highly toxic, which explains the inci-
depends on the Ministry of Health with the support of the dence of poisoning among Chilean agricultural workers. In
Institute of Public Health. Law 16.674 and its implementing 2018, the main pesticides related to acute pesticide poison-
regulations, enacted in 2004, created a protocol for national ing were lamba-cyhalotrin (17.5%), chlorpyrifos (17.5%),
notification of acute pesticide poisoning reports. In addi- cypermethrin (5.2%), and methamidophos (5.1%) (REVEP
tion, Regulation D.S 594/2001, which establishes health and 2019).
environmental conditions for workers, regulates the aerial A recent study by Boedeker et al. (2020) estimates the
application of pesticides in urban areas and the monitoring global distribution of acute unintentional pesticide poison-
of pesticide use by agricultural workers. ing based on a systematic review supplemented by mortality
Statistics collected by the System of Monitoring of Acute data from the World Health Organization database. They
Pesticide Poisonings (REVEP) indicate that a total of 3914 estimate that about 385 million cases of acute unintentional
cases were reported from 2012 to 2017, with an annual aver- pesticide poisoning occur annually worldwide including
age of 652 cases and a cumulative incidence rate of 3.6 per around 11,000 fatalities. Given a worldwide farming pop-
100,000 inhabitants. The cases of acute pesticide poison- ulation of approximately 860 million, they estimate that
ing are divided into occupational, accidental (not labor), about 44% of farmers are poisoned by pesticides every year.
and suicide attempts. Occupational poisoning (41.5%) The figures for Chile indicate that annually 17.63% of the
and accidental non-work poisoning (41.7%) constitute the national farmers are poisoned by pesticides, well below the

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Table 5  Acute pesticide Active ingredient 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
poisonings by active ingredient
2012–2017 Cypermethrin 87 79 132 46 78 51
Chlorpyrifos 106 38 21 140 5 30
Cyhalothrin 42 50 136 20 7 48
Glyphosate 19 46 19 15 17 33
Bromadiolone 5 19 6 8 8 100
Methamidophos 22 25 42 21 12 22
Alpha-cypermethrin 11 0 12 4 45 69
Azinphos methyl 118 3 14 1 0 1
Diazinon 30 11 52 4 6 11
Brodifacoum 15 12 12 15 9 21
Hydrogenated cyanamide 16 22 11 9 14 9
Methomyl 0 18 13 9 19 18
Deltamethrin 0 5 11 42 0 8
Sulfur 32 8 10 9 3 2
Others 370 206 337 240 215 227
Total 873 542 828 583 438 650

Source: REVEP (2018)

median values for South America and the world. Chile has degenerative diseases in chronically exposed farm workers
made progress in adopting better pesticide application prac- (see, for example. e.g., Szot 2004, Zuñiga et al. 2007; Lucero
tices and monitoring exposed workers, and acute pesticide et al. 2019, and Ramírez-Santana et al. 2020).
poisoning is not the main hazard associated with the high Although there are few studies related to water contami-
use of pesticides in the country. On the other hand, the actual nation by pesticides in Chile, the research carried out to
incidence of pesticide poisoning could be much higher than date consistently reveals the presence of agrochemicals in
official records because workers do not inform the authori- the surface water of agricultural areas of the Central Valley
ties due to ignorance or fear of losing their jobs (see, for of Chile. For instance, Climent et al. (2019) found the pres-
example, Ramírez-Santana et al. 2020). ence of 22 pesticides and 12 degradation products in the
Furthermore, the current surveillance system focuses on Cachapoal River basin; Montory et al. (2017) found organo-
acute pesticide poisonings, while little is known about the chlorine compounds in surface water of the Ňuble River
chronic effects of exposure to pesticides through agricultural basin; Giordano et al. (2011) found residues of diazinon,
applications or consumption of contaminated food by the lindane, chlorpyrifos, cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, and fenva-
general population. In fact, very few studies in Chile have lerate in the Itata River; Palma et al. (2004) detected sima-
examined non-occupational exposure to pesticides and their zine, hexazinone, 2,4-D, picloram, and carbendazim in the
effects. These few studies have found high chronic expo- water of the Traiguén River; Cooman et al. (2005) reported
sure to organophosphate pesticides (OP) in agricultural and the presence of atrazine residues in the Chillán River; while
non-agricultural workers, as well as in school children in Dutka et al. (1996) detected triazine, atrazine, metolachlor,
rural areas (see, e.g., Muñoz-Quezada et al. 2012 and 2017). and benomyl in the surface water and sediment in Temuco
In addition to acute poisonings in children or adolescents and Rapel River basin. All of these were reported at levels
(which account for one-third of reported non-occupational exceeding the European regulations (0.1 µg L−1), except in
cases, see Ramírez-Santana et al. 2020), studies have shown Dutka et al. (1996), who detected lower pesticide concentra-
that children have cumulative exposure to OP insecticides, tions. Pesticides discharged directly into the river, washing
pyrethroid pesticides, and herbicides through their diet, resi- of empty pesticide containers, pesticide overuse, and chemi-
dential use, living near farms, and through parents who work cal fallow, have been identified as the main sources account-
in agriculture (see, e.g., Muñoz-Quezada et al. 2012, 2017, ing for the presence of organochlorine pesticides (Montory
2019, and 2020). Studies have also linked pesticide use to et al. 2017). Thus, the existing evidence demonstrates the
spontaneous abortions, births of children with congenital need for surveillance system to monitor pesticides in surface
malformations and reproductive health changes, cytogenetic water areas of Chile and propose different corrective meas-
damage in farm workers, decreased cognitive performance ures to reduce pesticide contamination. At present, Chile
in the general population, and neurotoxic effects that may lacks a surveillance system of pesticide residues in water
reduce cognitive performance in developing children and and soil, especially in agricultural areas. Therefore, policies

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should be developed and enforced to prevent environmental pesticide risk perceptions, influence pesticide overuse (see,
exposure of the general population around farming areas e.g., Matthews 2008 and Liu and Huang 2013). Regarding
through water contamination. risk perception, Dreyer et al. (2016) examined how differ-
ent socioeconomic variables influence smallholder farmers’
risk perception of pesticides in Chile. According to their
Factors explaining high rates of pesticide study, smallholders perceive the actual risk of pesticides to
use be low because there is little and uncertain evidence of vis-
ible health damage. As previously described, a relevant fact
An obvious question is why the rate of use of pesticides that neutralizes the concern about pesticides is the economic
in Chile is as high as it is. Potential explanations are the need to produce and work; even if the use of pesticides might
intensification of the agricultural activities in the country, pose some risks to their health, it appears as a necessary and
the lack of information related to the potential impacts of comparatively minor evil.
pesticides on human health and environment, lack of moni- Farmers prefer to use chemical pesticides because of their
toring and enforcement of current regulations, and the low efficacy, without understanding how reliance on pesticides
cost of pesticide products. In what follows, we discuss each can lead to a loss of natural pest enemies, the development
of these drivers. of pesticide resistance, and the resulting need to use pesti-
cides more frequently in the future (Dreyer et al. 2016). In
Intensification of agricultural activities addition, there is a coordination problem: because farmers’
land is surrounded by plantations that apply pesticides, they
As discussed previously, the boom of agricultural produc- believe that if they do not apply pesticides, they will be more
tion has caused a progressive increase in the use of pesti- vulnerable to infestation by the pests. Thus, even if farmers
cides. While the use of pesticides has resulted in large yield believe that organic farming or integrated pest management
increases and improved agricultural productivity, the nega- is more beneficial for environmental sustainability and less
tive health and environmental effects of pesticide use raise risky for health, they perceive several difficulties associated
concerns regarding their sustainability. Pesticide overuse with this type of organic farming. The most important is the
results from a market failure as agricultural producers fail greater risk of not being able to control the pest, resulting
to internalize the negative externalities of pesticide overuse. in losses or damage to their production. It also means more
Even government regulators in the most advanced indus- work and therefore increased production costs.
trialized countries have been unable to fully correct such Increased awareness about the risks related to pesticide
market failures, as evidenced by the fact that few countries exposure has shown not to be associated with lower expo-
have reduced pesticide use (see, e.g., Lefebvre et al 2015). sures by Chilean farmers. This is because factors beyond
Reducing pesticide dependence requires a shift to integrated the control of individuals, such as nearby agricultural use
pest management that harmonizes biological and chemical and residues in food, are the primary determinants of expo-
controls instead of fully relying on chemical pesticides. sure (see, e.g., Muñoz-Quezada et al. 2019). Therefore, it is
Empirical evidence has shown that the application of such necessary the implementation of enforcement and control
an approach can lead to substantial reductions in pesticide of pesticides with regulation from government institutions.
use without leading to a decline in crop yields. For example, One of the aspects that strongly influences farmers’ practices
Pretty and Bharucha (2015) provide evidence of the impacts is the market. If this would require low levels of toxicity,
of integrated pest management on productivity and pesticide producers would be concerned with compliance. Therefore,
reliance in a sample of countries in Africa and Asia. They incentives and regulations that induce reorientation of the
find the reduced reliance on pesticide does not lead to reduc- market could have positive effects on preventive practices.
tions in productivity. In contrast, it can lead to a wide range Under the current situation, when MRLs are violated, super-
of on-farm and off-farm benefits, such as savings, improved markets and food processing companies will not purchase
public health, and natural capital and around farms. these products. In contrast, MRLs of products sold in local
street markets in Chile are not verified. Hence, fruits and
Lack of information related to the potential effects vegetables exceeding MRLs can still be sold. This is to say,
of pesticide use on human health and environment the lack of enforcement of pesticide residues in fresh food
sold in local street markets entails a major risk for consum-
It has been argued that farmers’ intentions to secure crops ers, who run the risk of purchasing products that contain
through over-spraying and the lack of pesticide enforcement high concentrations of pesticide residues over the MRLs or
are the main factors contributing to the overuse of pesticides pesticides prohibited for the crop.
(see, e.g., Marcoux and Urpelainen 2011). Farmer education, Furthermore, the amount of money Chilean farmers
gender, and limited access to technical assistance, as well as spend on pesticides is higher than necessary because of the

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Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2022) 29:22785–22797 22793

lack of training and knowledge. Crop insurance can contrib- Low cost of pesticides
ute to reduce the use of pesticide in agriculture by providing
a substitute for the risk management benefits of pesticides. Even though government support for Chilean agriculture
Empirical studies worldwide have shown that crop insur- creates limited distortions in agricultural markets because
ance leads to more environmentally friendly behavior from there are almost no price subsidies to farmers, the hidden
farmers (see, e.g., Feinerman et al. 1992 and Aubert and costs and externalities of pesticide use are not taken into
Enjolras 2018). In Chile, there has been a crop insurance account in policy decisions. In order to reduce pesticide use,
program in place since the year 2000 with the aim to protect the high external costs of pesticides need to be considered in
farmers against climatic events. The insurance cover fruits, policy decisions and restrictions placed on those hazardous
vegetables, and annual crops with a policy to protect farmer pesticides that cannot be safely managed (McCann 2005).
of up to two-thirds of the potential value of the crop (Salazar However, in Chile, as in many other countries, policy makers
et al. 2019). However, the use of insurance in Chile is quite are very reluctant to restrict pesticide use for fear of affect-
low, even if the price of the insurance is partially subsidized. ing food production, reducing export revenues, or increasing
For instance, in 2014, only 6.4% of the total farm area was food prices, although these fears are often not based on an
insured (see, e.g., Salazar et al. 2019). Lack of knowledge empirical analysis of the associated costs and benefits. In the
about the existence and potential benefits of crop insurance absence of such analysis, policy debates on pesticide issues
seems to be the main reason for the low uptake. A potential are vulnerable to the influence of ideology and commercial
avenue of action for the Chilean government to reduce the interests.
use of pesticides could then be to promote the uptake of crop There is increasing debate in developed countries about
insurance and to tie the magnitude of the subsidies to the the use of taxes and other regulatory measures to reduce pes-
sustainability of the agricultural practices. ticide use. For example, France aims to reduce agrochemical
use by 50% by 2025, with measures that include bonuses
Monitoring and enforcement of pesticide and penalties for those who do not meet the target (similar
regulations to what some countries have introduced for energy savings).
However, the demand for pesticides is quite inelastic (see,
Regarding the monitoring and enforcement of current regu- e.g., Böcker and Finger 2017) possibly due to the increasing
lations, the evidence presented suggests a lack of appropriate importance of pesticides in current agricultural production
control of pesticide regulations, as well as a lack of a mod- practices compared to previous decades (see, e.g., Skevas
ern pesticides’ approval/registration procedure. In particu- et al. 2012). Since the demand for pesticides is quite inelas-
lar, to reach the standards of developed countries, stricter tic—and even more inelastic for more toxic pesticides (see,
requirements to purchase pesticides, application records, e.g., Skevas et al. 2012)—large amounts of taxation may be
and training should be implemented, such that traceability needed to achieve substantial volume reductions.
of pesticide use is possible. Moreover, for the control of In many developed countries, requirements to reduce pes-
pesticides sales in the local market, a certification should be ticide use arise from consumer demand (rather than regula-
implemented by the authorities to identify all the stockhold- tory requirements). Consumers are increasingly asking ques-
ers involved in the value chain of pesticides. The registra- tions about the food they consume and how it is produced.
tion process, storage, commercialization, and final customer This has led to an increasing demand for organic products
should also be identified. around the world. In Europe, for example, trade in organic
Furthermore, the Agricultural and Livestock Services, products has increased significantly in recent years. In con-
SAG, should improve the availability of information on pes- trast, the Chilean domestic market for organic products is
ticide sales per year, which currently is available with a huge still in its infancy (see Padilla Bravo et al. 2012). The main
temporal lag between the year in which the sales take place obstacle to the development of a domestic organic market
and the year in which such data is publicly available. Such is the lack of consumer knowledge about the characteris-
information would allow conducting evaluations and making tics of organic products and the potential benefits of organic
decisions regarding public policies to control pesticide use. farming, together with the high price premiums for organic
Several countries require written “recipes” by an accredited products compared to conventionally grown alternatives. As
advisor to sell pesticides. Such recipes specify the type of a result, commercial organic production in Chile is export-
product and the quantity, at least for those that have a higher oriented and thus subject to increasing demands for organic
level of toxicity. This is an aspect where regulation needs to food standards from foreign customers.
be improved in Chile where pesticides can be bought without Traceability is one of the most important measures to
a justified technical recommendation. Anyone in the country ensure the safety and quality characteristics of food. In
can buy pesticide with active ingredients Ia and Ib considered countries such as the USA, traceability systems are usually
highly toxic by the World Health Organization. motivated by economic incentives rather than government

13
22794 Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2022) 29:22785–22797

regulations on traceability (see, e.g., Golan et al. 2004). available record of sales is from 2012, and the lack of current
Companies build traceability systems to improve supply- information makes it difficult to determine with certainty the
side management, increase safety and quality control, and extent of occupational and environmental exposure to pesti-
market food products with credibility attributes. In markets cides and the adverse public health effects. In addition, there
where final or intermediate demand is strong enough to is concern that highly hazardous pesticides are being used
cover the cost of product differentiation, manufacturers have with inadequate control. Based on the current data published
responded with new products and new traceability systems by RIAL and REVEP, decision-makers should remove from
to support credibility attribute claims, including food safety the Chilean market some highly hazardous pesticides with
claims. To eliminate potential fraud or unfair competition, MRLs above the standards. Pesticides such as cypermethrin
industry groups and individual companies are increasingly and methomyl should be banned from the Chilean market
relying on the services of external auditors to verify the due to their hazardous effects, high levels in fresh food, and
existence of credibility attributes. exceeding MRLs. In addition, Chile should advance pesti-
cide traceability through stricter requirements for purchasing
products and by implementing a system for documenting
Conclusions applications for pesticide sales and use.
Coordination and collaboration between Chile’s agricul-
Chile produces and exports more food than ever before. tural agency Livestock Service and the Ministry of Health
At the same time, concerns about the quality and safety of are critical to the effectiveness of monitoring, compliance,
products consumed in the country have increased due to and enforcement related to pesticides and their effects on
reports showing poor use of pesticides. In addition, pesti- human health and the environment. Ensuring an adequate
cide exposure affects the health not only of farm workers but level of protection requires effective regulatory oversight,
also of people from the general population. Environmental up-to-date legislation, and regular evaluations to ensure that
exposure to organophosphate pesticides occurs, for example, national laws are adopted, enforced, and effective. There is a
through pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables, spray- need to create monitoring systems to trace pesticide residues
ing near farmland, and pesticide residues in water and soil. in air, soil, and water for irrigation and human consump-
Improvements in the regulation and control of pesticide use tion. There is also a need to improve national capacity and
are clearly needed. develop practical tools to monitor and regulate pesticide
The overuse and misuse of pesticides in agriculture often trade. In addition, the list of registered pesticides should
begin with consumers being largely unaware of their expo- be regularly reviewed and updated, with the aim of reduc-
sure to pesticides and the potential risks associated with ing the use of high-risk pesticides and promoting the use of
them, and farmers lacking knowledge and training on the environmentally friendly alternatives in agriculture.
necessary safety measures (Xu et al. 2008). Raising aware- Chile is heavily dependent on agriculture; therefore, it is
ness through training and education is crucial as it promotes important to improve agricultural management to ensure its
farmers’ interest in alternative methods of crop protection, sustainability. Improved agricultural practices can not only
creates political support for the implementation of neces- reduce the negative health and environmental impacts of agri-
sary policies, and influences consumers to demand safe food culture, but also open access to new, more profitable markets
(see, e.g., Schreinemachers and Tipraqsa 2012). It is also that require high levels of food safety and pesticide traceability.
important to improve farmers’ understanding of the ecology
of pest management, such as the unintended negative effects
of pesticides on natural predators of pests. When farmers Author contribution Jessica Coria: conceptualization; methodology;
formal analysis; validation; writing—original draft; visualization; fund-
are well educated on the use of pesticides and their effects ing acquisition. Sebastián Elgueta: conceptualization; methodology;
through good agricultural practices, they are less likely to data curation; validation; visualization; writing—review and editing;
violate maximum residue level regulations and consum- funding acquisition.
ers can trust the quality and safety of food (Damalas and
Koutroubas 2017). Funding Funding from the FRAM Centre for Future Chemical Risk
Assessment and Management at the University of Gothenburg and from
Outreach can increase public awareness about the risks FONDECYT through the project number 11190872 (Study of process-
associated with the overuse and misuse of pesticide, which ing factors on multi-class pesticides residues in fresh vegetables and
can help reduce pesticide use in the long run. However, their associated risk assessment and compliance of maximum residue
stricter regulations on the sale and use of pesticides and levels of Chile) is received.
improvements in monitoring are also needed. The Ministry
Data availability Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no
of Agriculture, through the Agricultural and Livestock Ser- datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.
vice (SAG), regulates matters related to the import and sale
of pesticides for agricultural use. However, the last publicly

13
Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2022) 29:22785–22797 22795

Declarations Climent MJ, Herrero-Hernández E, Sánchez-Martín MJ, Rodríguez-

Cruz MS, Pedreros P, Urrutia R (2019) Residues of pesticides and
some metabolites in dissolved and particulate phase in surface
Ethical approval Not applicable.
stream water of Cachapoal River basin, central Chile. Environ
Pollut 251:90–101
Consent to participate Not applicable.
Cooman K, Debels P, Gajardo M, Urrutia R, Barra R (2005) Use of
Daphnia spp. for the ecotoxicological assessment of water quality
Consent for publication Not applicable.
in an agricultural watershed in South-Central Chile. Archives of
Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 48(2):191–200
Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests.
Concha-Meyer A, Grandon S, Sepúlveda G, Diaz R, Yuri JA, Torres C
(2019) Pesticide residues quantification in frozen fruit and veg-
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attri- etables in Chilean domestic market using QuEChERS extraction
bution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adapta- with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography electrospray
tion, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long ionization Orbitrap mass spectrometry. Food Chem 295:64–71
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, Damalas CA, Koutroubas SD (2017) Farmers’ training on pesticide
provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes use is associated with elevated safety behavior. Toxics 5(3):19
were made. The images or other third party material in this article are Dreyer AS, Heger MA, Díaz MRA, Fernanda M, Fernandez C, Orel-
included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated lana PDRL (2016) Exposición a plaguicidas y determinantes
otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in sociales de la salud en pequeños agricultores y agricultoras de la
the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not V Región Valparaíso, Chile. Revista Cuestiones De Población y
permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will Sociedad 7(7):21–31
need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a Dutka BJ, McInnis R, Jurkovic A, Liu D, Castillo G (1996) Water and
copy of this licence, visit http://​creat​iveco​mmons.​org/​licen​ses/​by/4.​0/. sediment ecotoxicity studies in Temuco and Rapel River Basin,
Chile. Environmental Toxicology and Water Quality: An Interna-
tional Journal, 11(3):237–247
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