Bridging the areas of political-economic sociology, the sociology of agriculture and environmental sociology, this study tests two hypotheses derived from a refined theory of foreign investment dependence. The hypotheses state that pesticide and fertilizer use intensity in less-developed countries are both positively associated with foreign investment dependence in the primary sector. The use of such inputs in agriculture production is known to contribute to a variety of human health and environmental problems. Findings for random effects and static score panel regression analyses of 35 less-developed countries confirm the hypotheses, and point to the sociological relevance in assessing the potential social and environmental impacts of both the transnational organization and the relative scale of production in different sectors. (Contains 6 tables and 18 notes.)