State governance of pesticide use and trade in Vietnam

• Vietnam has experienced an exponential growth of both the quantity and the value of imported pesticides in recent decades.
• The increasing import of newly formulated (and safer) pesticides has not replaced or reduced the highly toxic pesticides.
• The improper use of pesticides by farmers (too high dosages, cocktailing of pesticides, inadequate pre-harvest intervals) has further contributed to the environmental and health problems resulting from pesticides.
• The Vietnamese governments have been unsuccessful to regulate the pesticide market.
• To some extent, and in some more wealthy areas, famers and retailers have emerged successfully as new pesticide governance actors.
• To a large extent however, an overall improvement of pesticide registration and pesticide use can only rely on better intervention of Vietnamese governments.

Vietnam is facing serious challenges with respect to the amount and toxicity of the pesticides used. With hardly any domestic pesticides production, Vietnam experienced an exponential growth of both the quantity and the value of imported pesticides in recent years. And the increasing import of newly formulated (and safer) pesticides has not replaced or reduced the highly toxic pesticides with low efficacy. The improper use of pesticides by farmers (too high dosages, cocktailing of pesticides, inadequate pre-harvest intervals etc.) has further contributed to the environmental and health problems resulting from pesticides, especially in poorer areas where farmers have to largely rely on cheap but often old and more toxic pesticides. Despite a growth in pesticide policies and regulation, the state has been unable to regulate the pesticide market. The main causes behind the state failure in pesticide market regulation are the governance structure (i.e., centralized decision making), large corruption, information distortion and a failing legal system. To some extent, and in some more wealthy areas, famers and retailers have emerged successfully as new pesticide governance actors. But an overall improvement of pesticide registration and pesticide use can only rely on better government intervention: more stringent implementation and enforcement of regulations, more effective promotion of IPM-based pest control, further public participation in implementation and higher ethics within government.