臺灣種植紅豆農民避免噴灑巴拉刈之意願分析

Abstract

本文在探討在台灣種植紅豆的農民們使用巴拉刈及台灣政府在對人工採摘紅豆及使用巴拉刈的現狀。巴拉刈是一種除草劑，因其對人體健康影響的廣泛關注，在許多國家是被被禁止的。但在台灣是合法的，且有超過90％的紅豆農民為了降低人力成本而使用巴拉刈，如此才可掌握價格競爭優勢。 本文針對在高屏兩地的農民做SSPS統計分析問卷調查及羅吉斯模實證模型分析，調查結果證實，影響大多數台灣紅豆農民願意不使用巴拉刈的最主要因素是勞動成本及利潤。除此之外，我們發現大多數農民都沒有意識到巴拉刈枯對消費者健康的潛在影響。最後，政府允許銷售進口紅豆的政策，使得原本這些不使用巴拉刈的農民，在這一片紅海市場中更難以銷售產品。為了解決這些問題，本文建議政府重新評估紅豆的進口政策，讓傳統手工採摘的紅豆可以在市場上保有競爭力。

This paper examines the use of paraquat by red bean farmers in Taiwan and the role of the government in safeguarding natural alternatives to the use of paraquat. Paraquat is an industrial herbicide that is banned in many countries because of widespread concerns about its health effects on humans. However, its use is legal in Taiwan and more than 90% of red bean farmers use paraquat in order to lower their labor costs. This gives them a competitive advantage over farmers who do not use paraquat. The findings of this paper, based on questionnaire surveys of farmers in Kaosiung and Pingtung and SSPS statistical analysis and Logit modelof the results, confirm that labor costs and their impact on profit margin are the most important concern for a majority of red bean farmers in Taiwan. Moreover, most farmers are not aware of the potential health impact of paraquat on consumers. Finally, government policy, which allows the sale of imported red beans, makes it more difficult for farmers who do not use paraquat to sell their red beans in an overcrowded market. To address these problems, the paper recommends that the government reevaluate its import policy to allow natural products the ability to compete in the marketplace.