An Economic Analysis on the Impacts that Detrimental Organisms Cause to Taiwan’s Agricultural and Ecological Environment—The Cases of Pomacea canaliculatas and Fruit Flies
Date Issued
2004
Date
2004
Author(s)
Chen, Wei-Ting
DOI
zh-TW
Abstract
Pomacea canaliculatas(Lamarck,1819), which were introduced by overseas Chinese from South America in 1979, are not indigenous animals originated in Taiwan, but so far they have typically become one of the momentous detrimental organisms in this island. Fruit flies are pests of internationally significant importance, and all the time the problems that they cause have received close attention from the authorities concerned of preventing pests and diseases. In the past few decades, the studies with regard to pests and diseases in Taiwan laid particular stress on the aspects of preventive and quarantine techniques, with the result of neglecting to estimate the impacts that detrimental organisms cause to our agricultural and ecological environment from the viewpoints of Economics.
In this research, we make use of the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to appraise the economic benefits of guarding against detrimental organisms from damaging the environment, to think it over from another point of view, it is the amount of loss valued in monetary terms that Pomacea canaliculatas and fruit flies may bring about, under the conditions that precautionary measures were not properly implemented. The resulting figures of estimates are hopefully provided to the Council of Agriculture for the reference of preventing detrimental organisms, researches related, as well as policy decisions relevant to this issue to be made.
In the past, the researches applying contingent valuation methods were merely carried out by investigating the subjects with relation to the commodities being assessed, nevertheless they were not specifically aimed at inquiring about the information concerning the background of the industry, which resulted in the lack of reference materials. With a view to better understanding the impacts that detrimental organisms may cause to Taiwan’s agricultural and ecological environment, this research will be conducted from the production and consumption sides separately to examine the level of interests and inclinations through questionnaires that farmers and the public pay to the damage of crops causing by Pomacea canaliculatas and fruit flies.
On the part of preventing Pomacea canaliculatas, it is estimated that the average acreage of plants that the farmers cultivate is around 0.58 acres, and the amounts of money putting into preventing Pomacea canaliculatas every year is 2,133 NTD, which is about 0.85% of farmers’ annual income. Without taking any precautions, the average loss per year is about 23,161 NTD, and the average rate of loss is measured at 10.80%. The overall satisfaction ratio of performances valued by farmers that the government concerned set into action in preventing Pomacea canaliculatas is about 26.21%. Likewise, on the part of preventing fruit flies, it is estimated that the average acreage of plants that the farmers grow is in the neighborhood of 0.98 acres, and the amounts of money putting into preventing fruit flies every year is 35,703 NTD, which is about 7.31% of farmers’ annual income. Without taking any preventive measures, the average loss per year is about 271,608 NTD, and the average rate of loss is measured at 38.82%. The overall satisfaction ratio of performances valued by farmers that the government concerned set into action in preventing fruit flies is about 43.46%.
In the framework of double-bound dichotomous choice model for assessing the public’s willingness to pay for the prevention of detrimental organisms, we derive that the Weibull distribution best stands for the statistical distribution of WTP for preventing Pomacea canaliculatas, and the average median WTP is about 734 NTD per household, meanwhile, the Log-normal distribution best represents the statistical distribution of WTP for the prevention of fruit flies, and the average median WTP is approximately 579 NTD per household. From the results listed above, we are capable of inferring the total benefits of preventing Pomacea canaliculatas and fruit flies from damaging the crops and plants, which is about 5.07 billion and 4.00 billion NTD respectively. To put it differently, were the preventive measures not better taken, the amount of loss that Pomacea canaliculatas and fruit flies cause to Taiwan’s agricultural and ecological environment is about 5.1 billion and 4.0 billion NTD respectively.
Subjects
福壽螺
果實蠅
經濟效益
願付價格
條件評估法
Pomacea canaliculatas
Fruit Flies
Contingent Valuation Method (CVM)
Willingness to Pay (WTP)
Total Benefits
Type
thesis
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