Pesticides: Leading Cause of Poisoning in India

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A new research has shown that two in every three cases of poisoning in India are happening because of pesticide consumption either intentionally or unintentionally.

Key Points

• It was titled Toxic Epidemiology of poisoning exhibited in Indian population from 2010 to 2020: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
• It revealed that pesticides were the main case of poisoning, with an overall prevalence of 63 percent due to widespread use of pesticides for agricultural and household activities.
• According to the study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the prevalence of pesticide poisoning in the adult population was 65 percent and 22 percent in children.
• An analysis of the region-wise distribution of the prevalence of poisoning showed that it was the highest in north India at 79 per cent (more than three-fourths of the total cases of poisoning), followed by south India (65.9 percent), central India (59.2 per cent), west India (53.1 per cent), north east India (46.9 percent) and east India (38.5 per cent).

Reasons for Poisoning

• The pesticides remain the leading cause of poisoning in south Asian countries including India and in southeast Asia and China.
• The second most common cause of poisoning was miscellaneous agents, followed by drugs, venoms and corrosives.
• The reasons for pesticide poisoning were the co-existence of poverty and agricultural farming and thus, the easy availability of pesticides.

Associated Issues 

• Unabated use: The issues regarding the unabated use of pesticides in India and how they still continue to be a great threat to human health. 
• Unsafe Use: Thousands of farmers and farm labourers die every year due to unsafe use of hazardous pesticides.
• Deaths due to consumption: Deaths of farmers and the general public across Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka and Bihar among other states in the last few years due to pesticide consumption have highlighted the need to regulate their use.
• Suicides: Easy access to pesticides has also led its consumption becoming the leading cause of suicides worldwide.

Suggestions from Research

• The World Health Organization and its member countries initiated a programme of safe access of pesticides, which has resulted in a decrease in the prevalence of fatal poisoning by 10 per cent across the world.
• It also pointed out that many studies had concluded that the strict restriction of highly lethal pesticides by legal mechanisms or policy actions drastically reduced deaths.

Use of Pesticides in India

• India is among the largest producers of pesticides in the world. 
• Insecticides, fungicides and herbicides are used in India, with insecticides forming the highest share. 
• According to a report by database Research and Markets, the Indian pesticides market was worth Rs 197 billion in 2018. The market is further projected to reach a value of Rs 316 billion by 2024. 
• As of October, 2019, a total of 292 pesticides were registered in India.
• The total as well as per hectare consumption of pesticides in India shows a significant increase after 2009-10. 
• Total pesticide consumption is the highest in Maharashtra, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. 
• On the other hand, per hectare consumption of pesticides was the highest in Punjab (0.74 kg), followed by Haryana (0.62 kg) and Maharashtra (0.57 kg) during 2016-17. 
• The recent increase in pesticide use is said to be because of higher use of herbicides as cost of manual weed control has risen due to increase in agricultural wages.

Benefits of Pesticides

• Improving productivity: Food grain production has increased due to advanced pesticides.
• Protection of crop losses/yield reduction: Pesticides have been an integral part of the process by reducing losses from the weeds, diseases and insect pests that can markedly reduce the amount of harvestable produce.
• Vector disease control: Insecticides are often the only practical way to control the insects that spread deadly diseases such as malaria. Disease control strategies are crucially important also for livestock.
• Use in Transport: The transport sector makes extensive use of pesticides, particularly herbicides. Herbicides and insecticides are used to maintain the turf on sports pitches, cricket grounds and golf courses. 
• Protects Buildings: Insecticides protect buildings and other wooden structures from damage by termites and wood boring insects.

Disadvantages of Pesticides

• Direct impact on humans: No segment of the population is completely protected against exposure to pesticides and the potentially serious health effects. The high risk groups exposed to pesticides include production workers, formulators, sprayers, mixers, loaders and agricultural farm workers. 
• Impact through food commodities: The pesticide can cause contamination in the food stuff. Measurement of chemicals in the total diet can provide estimates of human exposure and of the potential risk. 
• Impact on environment: Pesticides can contaminate soil, water, turf, and other vegetation. In addition to killing insects or weeds, pesticides can be toxic to a host of other organisms including birds, fish, beneficial insects, and non-target plants. Insecticides are generally the most acutely toxic class of pesticides, but herbicides can also pose risks to non-target organisms.
  • Surface water contamination: Pesticides can reach surface water through runoff from treated plants and soil. Contamination of water by pesticides is widespread. 
  • Groundwater contamination: Groundwater pollution due to pesticides is a worldwide problem. Once groundwater is polluted with toxic chemicals, it may take many years for the contamination to dissipate or be cleaned up. 
  • Effect on soil fertility: Heavy treatment of soil with pesticides can cause populations of beneficial soil microorganisms to decline. 

Way Forward

• Pesticides are often considered a quick, easy, and inexpensive solution for controlling weeds and insect pests in urban landscapes. However, the cost of pesticide use should be considered.
• All activities concerning pesticides should be based on scientific judgement and not on commercial considerations. 
• There is a need to regulate pesticide use for prevention of adverse health effects and  for a sustainable development of economics.
• The efforts should be made to develop health education and to disseminate them within the community in order to minimise human exposure to pesticides.

Source: DTE