Need to Prohibit use of Pesticides to ensure food safety

Syllabus: GS2/ Health/GS3/Economy

Context

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has urged states to establish an inter-ministerial committee to focus on reducing pesticide use and developing strategies to regulate pesticide at the farmer level. 

Benefits of Pesticides 

• Increased Crop Yields: By controlling pests that damage crops, pesticides help farmers achieve higher yields and more reliable harvests.
• Economic Efficiency: Pesticides reduce crop losses, which in turn lowers food prices and increases the profitability of farming. 
• Disease Prevention: Some pesticides control vectors like mosquitoes, which are responsible for spreading diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. 
• Weed Control: Herbicides, a type of pesticide, effectively manage weed populations that compete with crops for nutrients and water. 

Issues

• Ecological Impact: Pesticides can harm non-target species, including beneficial insects like bees, butterflies, and predatory insects that help control pest populations naturally. 
• Soil Health: Prolonged use of pesticides can degrade soil health by killing microorganisms essential for soil fertility. 
• Water Contamination: Pesticides can leach into groundwater or run off into surface water bodies, causing contamination. 
• Human Health Risks:Pesticides, when used excessively or inappropriately, can leave harmful residues in food products, posing significant health risks to consumers.
  • These risks include acute poisoning, endocrine disruption, and long-term effects such as cancer and neurological disorders

Governments Steps

• Food Safety on Wheels: The FSSAI’s emphasis on regulating pesticide use aligns with global standards to minimize these risks and promote public health.
  • The FSSAI has highlighted the need to identify key locations within states where mobile labs, known as “Food Safety on Wheels,”can be deployed. 
  • These mobile labs will play a crucial role in raising consumer awareness and disseminating vital information about food safety practices. 
• Maximum Residue limit (MRLs) of pesticides : MRLs of pesticides are fixed differently for different food commodities based on their risk assessments.

• Insecticide Act, 1968 : Pesticides are regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture through the Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIB & RC) constituted under the Insecticide Act, 1968.
  • The CIB & RC regulate the manufacturing, import, transport, storage of pesticides and accordingly the pesticides are registered/ banned/restricted by CIB & RC.
• The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) increased the maximum residue limit (MRL) of pesticides in herbs and spices  from 0.01 milligrammes per kilogramme (mg / kg) to 0.1 mg / kg. 
  • MRLs fixed by CODEX for spices and culinary herbs range from 0.1 to 80 mg/kg.
• FSSAI aligns with the updated standards of MRLs set by Codex Alimentarius Commission (an International Food Safety and Quality Standard setting body created by WHO and FAO of UN) and the European Union.

• Anupam Verma Committee: It was constituted by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare to review 66 pesticides which are banned/restricted in other countries but continued to be registered for use in India.
• Organic farming: Organic farming avoids the use of pesticides which results in food products that are free from harmful chemical residues with higher levels of essential nutrients.
  • The government is promoting use of biopesticides, which are generally safer than chemical pesticides.
• FSSAI has also asked State Food Safety Commissioners to undertake an awareness campaign on pesticides/insecticides residues in fruits and vegetables.

Conclusion and Way Forward 

• Pesticides remain a vital tool in modern agriculture, contributing to food security and economic stability. 
• However, their use must be carefully managed to balance agricultural productivity with environmental sustainability and human health. 

Source: AIR