Pesticide use started in 1950s in limited areas of agriculture, but later on their use went on increasing rapidly to meet the food demands of the fast growing population of the world. By the end of 20th century, pesticides were used on a large scale in agriculture to protect the crops from insect-pests, diseases, and weeds to grow sufficient food for people. Many people also use pesticides in gardens at their homes, public areas like parks, schools, playgrounds, and other public places. Indiscriminate use of pesticides create their own set of problems- including toxicity to people, residue problems, pollution of water, soil, and environment, destroy predators, parasitoids, pollinators, and other useful insects and animals. Scientists are working hard to decrease the use of pesticides and recommend Integrated Pest Management with major emphasis on biological control and cultural control. A lot of world’s most powerful companies still make billions of dollars by selling pesticides.
There are over1000 pesticides used around the world. About 1,763,000 tons of pesticides are being used in China, 407,779 tons in US, and 62,193 tons in India. The health effects of pesticides depend on the type pesticides. Organophosphates and carbamates affect nervous system, others may irritate the skin or eyes. Some pesticides may be carcinogens and some affect hormones or endocrine system in the body. Overall pesticides affect stinging eyes, rashes, blisters, blindness, nausea, dizziness, diarrhoea and death. Chronic effects are cancers, birth defects, reproductive harm, immunotoxicity, neurological and developmental toxicity and disruptions of the endocrine system. Pesticides affect birth defects, toxicity of a fetus, production of benign or malignant tumours, genetic changes, blood disorders, nervous disorders, and endocrine. Pesticides also responsible for leukaemia, brain tumours, cancer of breast, prostate, lung, stomach, colorectal, liver and urinary bladder. Pesticides also cause asthma, diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s etc.
Agricultural Scientists observed the deleterious effects of pesticides during 1960s and promoted biological control, cultural control, mechanical control, resistant varieties, and rotation etc. They recommended to adopt Integrated Pest Management on large scale in the world. Rachel Carson published Silent Spring book in 1962 through which she warned the people regarding side effects of pesticides. Now we must adopt organic farming all over the world to save our next generations. Now it is the need of the day that all political leaders, social leaders, religious leaders and corporates should come to one plate form to advertise and promote organic farming strategy developed by the Agricultural Scientists.
Punjab has paid a heavy price due to the Green Revolution as Central Government assigned the duty to pay maximum food to the Central pool of food security. Rice was not grown in Punjab before 1950, but after 1970 it became the major crop of Punjab. Farmers have to use excessive fertilizers and pesticides to increase the yields of crops. Before 1950 organic farming was very popular, chemical fertilizers and pesticides were not used . Punjab is the third highest consumer of pesticides (5,543 tons ) after Maharashtra and UP, and the per hectare consumption of pesticides is the highest in Punjab followed by Haryana and Maharashtra. Now Punjab is facing serious problems like : pollution of surface and groundwater, water table has reached at dangerous level, soil fertility declined due to killing of beneficial microorganisms, residues problems ( in fruits, vegetables, food crops and fodder crops) , pollution of environment, Punjab has become capital of cancer, and disabled infants are being born. Punjab Agricultural University has been warning since a long time regarding the consequences of Green Revolution, but proper attention was not paid both by the government and the farmers. To save Punjab there is an urgent need to decrease the area under the rice crop, pay due attention to Integrated Pest Management, Biological control, and Bio-pesticide. Organic farming must be adopted as soon as possible on large areas.
Comments