That pesticide ‘dressing’ for your salad is to die for!


PANAP study finds unauthorised use of toxic chemicals is rampant in India

More than half of the 53 pesticides commonly used in Indian agriculture are highly hazardous, and two-thirds of those involved in manual spraying do not wear any protective equipment, which exposes them to toxic chemicals, a report released on Wednesday said.

The report, brought out by the Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PANAP), looked at pesticide usage patterns in seven South and South-East Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia.

The findings on India were based on six studies carried out since 2015 and involved personal interviews with around 650 pesticide-using farmers and farm-workers from 11 States. It found major lacunae in every aspects of pesticide handling, including retailing, packaging, handling storage and disposal.

“Seven out of 10 respondents interviewed said they have suffered ill-effects due to pesticide exposure,” said PANAP Executive Director Sarojeni Rengam, one of the authors of the report. Commonly reported health issues include respiratory, skin, EENT, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and neurological problems. The report found that agrochemical transnational corporations and their subsidiaries as well as local pesticide manufacturers and distributors produce and distribute highly hazardous pesticides that cause acute and chronic health effects. The pesticides are also known to cause environmental damage.....Read more

 

Source web page: Busienss Line


Comments (0)



Please Login or Register to join groups