Pesticide Poisoning – A Death Trap for Farmers

Mr. Kishor Tiwari, President of Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavalamban, (Minister of State Rank) appealedthe state administration today to stop the use of harmful products as an immediate solution to put an end to farmer fatalities. Farmers are increasingly growing in dependencies on chemical fertilizers and the current tragedy that occurred could have been averted had farmers been educated on the ills of increased dosages of pesticides and insecticides. The chain reaction of dosage increase production of poisonous chains and carcinogenic effects when consumed by animals especially milch animals through fodder which then get passed on to children and humans

Maharashtra has the largest area under cultivation in the country and extensive usage of chemical based pesticides exposes a significantly large population of the farmer community to health risks. Chemical based pesticideswhen sprayed without covering the mouth and nose, cause adverse skin reactions, burning sensation, dizziness, and headaches. Environmental changes have resulted in huge attacks of bollworm and whitefly on cotton and farmers have had to resort to spraying large amounts of insecticide and pesticides to save their standing cotton crop.

Mr. Kishor Tiwari, President of Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavalamban, (Minister of State Rank),stated that, “Farmers, agricultural departments and pesticide companies need to take note of the seriousness of this issue and if the state does not ban such toxic and chemical pesticides there will be a rise in farmer fatalities due to these chemical fertilizers. These naive farmers who failed to take requisite precautions and used the toxic insecticide without sufficient knowledge of how to these are usedhas resulted in their tragic death. We appeal to the state to support the use of non-poisonous and herbal pesticides.”

Mr. HR Gaikwad, Chairman and Managing Director, BVG Life Sciences Ltd commented, “The last decade has seen a rapid growth in the death rate amongst farmers and this has largely been attributed to the excessive use of pesticides and this will only further escalate if the issue is not addressed immediately. The current situation where 18 farmers’have perished due to pesticides over exposure is extremely dismaying and we urge the state government to take remedial measures immediately to prevent further tragedies.”

“We urge the state to test and use the non-poisonous, agro herbal products that are all natural, nontoxic, food safe, non-carcinogenic, 100 % herbal. These nano technology based agro-products boost immunity, growth and yield of plants and crops and most importantly are completely safe for human exposure. BVG Life Sciences motto of “Non Poisonous, Prosperous India” has ensured that agricultural products distributed by the company are licensedby the state government and are Ecocert certified.” He further added.