Hormonal Herbicide Drift, Territorial Vulnerability, and Investment Retraction in Fruit Production in Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil

Abstract

Despite growing experimental evidence of damage caused by auxinic compounds to sensitive crops, no comprehensive quantitative assessment of the magnitude and behavioral and institutional determinants of these impacts exists in Brazil. Through an online snowball-sampling survey (n=395 fruit growers; 141 municipalities; Rio Grande do Sul), a Drift Severity Index (ISDERIVA) was constructed and validated with internal consistency (α=0.925) and confirmed unidimensional structure. Nearly half of respondents fell into the higher severity classes, with significant differences across crops and regions. Perceived severity, farm size, and grapevine cultivation significantly predicted formal complaint filing, carried out by only 34.9% of the sample. A complementary analysis revealed that institutional proximity, formal registration and complaint filing, is associated with greater investment retraction under equivalent severity, suggesting that the institutional system operates as a receptor of crisis rather than as an effective mechanism of protection. A total ban on 2,4-D was the absolute policy priority for 65.3% of respondents, a proportion that increases with perceived severity. The findings point to a chronic cycle of institutional helplessness with direct implications for territorially differentiated regulatory policies.