Thailand experienced a six-fold increase in the quantity of formulated pesticide products applied per hectare over the period 1987–2010 (Fig. 1). Regressing the logarithm of pesticide use on the number of years, we estimate an average growth of 8.8% per annum ( p < 0.01) over the whole period, yet since the turn of the century this growth has been close to 10% per annum ( p < 0.01). The growth in pesticide use has far outstripped the growth in agricultural output, as can be seen from the constant decline (7.4% per annum) in pesticide productivity (i.e., output per unit of pesticides): whereas Thailand produced USD 400 of agricultural output per kg of formulated pesticide products in 1987 this was only USD 100 in 2009