Externalities of Pesticides and Their Internalization in the Wheat–Maize Cropping System—A Case Study in China’s Northern Plains

Abstract

When the production or use of a product imposes a cost or benefit on a third party, this is referred to as an externality. Externalities of pesticides are associated with social and environmental costs. However, there is still a lack of a systematic method for evaluating and internalizing the externalities of pesticides. This study utilizes the pesticide’s environmental impact quotient and environmental accounting methods to assess the external costs associated with pesticide usage in the winter-wheat–summer-maize cropping system in China’s northern plains, with a specific focus on the pesticide use in Botou City during the year 2020 as a case study. Additionally, we introduce the concept of the net external value of pesticides and propose a methodology for its internalization, aiming to quantify the external costs induced by pesticide usage and explore the possibility of integrating them into market transactions. The results showed that the total external costs of pesticide use are 423.9 USD ha−1, with a positive external value of 171.9 USD ha−1 and a net external value of −252.0 USD ha−1. The negative external costs associated with pesticide use outweigh the positive external values. External costs varied significantly according to environmental receptors, after retaining two significant figures: applicators accounted for 45% of the total external costs, followed by pickers (32%), consumers (11%), groundwater (4.5%), fish (3.9%), beneficial insects (1.7%), birds (1.3%), and bees (1.1%). The external costs of maize cultivation were 33% higher than those of wheat cultivation. The application of herbicides resulted in the highest external costs compared with fungicides and insecticides. Based on the internalization of the results, imposing an ecological tax on pesticide users is recommended, with rates of 3.29% for wheat and 6.76% for maize. This research contributes to sustainable agricultural development by providing valuable insights for farmers in selecting environmentally friendly pesticides and informing the implementation of ecological taxes on pesticide usage.