India must detoxify its poisoned farmlands

We are all at risk since pesticides have become pervasive in our environment

Last week, the Maharashtra government registered a police complaint against three pesticide companies for selling pesticides not recommended for the region after 32 farmers from Vidarbha died of poisoning. While the deaths indicate failure of the State itself, the genesis of the crisis dates back to the time of the Green Revolution in the 1960s when the need was felt to sharply increase crop productivity to ensure food security. This problem — increase in the use of pesticides — is not an India-specific problem: Since 1950, world population has doubled, yet the area of arable land used to feed these people has increased by only 10%. There are huge pressures to provide food, at low cost, on land that is becoming more and more degraded as nutrients are stripped from the soil. Naturally, farmers rely on external inputs – fertilisers and pesticides for short-term solution for large-scale commercially intensive agricultural systems.

This over-reliance has led to several problems: Many of these chemicals have become extremely pervasive in our environment as a result of their widespread repeated use and, in some cases, their environmental persistence. What’s important to understand here is that it is not just farmers and pesticide applicators are at risk from pesticide use: When women are exposed to pesticides during pregnancy, some of these chemicals pass directly to the child in the womb.

The only sure-shot approach to reduce exposure to toxic pesticides is through a move towards sustainable approach to producing food. This will require legally-binding agreements to immediately phase-out all pesticides that are toxic to non-target organisms implemented at both national and international level. It will not be easy to achieve this but it’s worth giving a strong push — a similar one that is happening in the case of air pollution — for a healthier tomorrow.