ABSTRACT
Successive governments since 1945 have encouraged farmers to increase their productivity and have supported this with: guaranteed prices; grants towards farm improvements; the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service; funding for agricultural research and training; and tax incentives. The theory of reasoned action relates attitudes to behavior and has been used in a variety of practical situations, including surveys of farmers' attitudes to pesticide use. Pesticides and agrochemicals in general, were frequently mentioned by conservationists as one of their main concerns about farming. In a public opinion poll 10% of those interviewed saw agrochemical use as the main threat to the countryside. Farmers generally felt that pesticides were an essential part of modern farming and that their safety, to people and the environment, was carefully tested by scientists and manufacturers. Most were less certain than farmers that the testing of pesticides was adequate, and they were worried about their unknown long-term effects.
