Uttam Nath
Dimapur
Synthetic pesticides, their uses and side-effects
Modern agriculture system has been changing extensively since the last couple of decades of twentieth century till date along with the advancement of science and technology. Along with new varieties of crops, chemical fertilizers and scientific devices, modern agriculture has also significantly using synthetic pesticides to increase crop production. . The food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) defines pesticides as, “any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying or controlling any pests, including vectors of human and animal diseases, unwanted species of plants and animals causing harm during or otherwise interfering with the production, processing, storage, transport or marketing of food, agricultural commodities, wood and wood products and animal feedstuffs, or substances that may be administered to animals for the control of insects, arachnids, or other pests in or on their bodies”. At present, synthetic pesticides are one of the most important elements in modern agriculture to control pests and increase production by reducing crop damages. According to WHO (1990), most of the pesticides have adverse effect on non target organisms and environment and despite of the ability to control the pests, synthetic pesticides cause potential health hazards to human when it is used inappropriately. Many of the synthetic pesticides are non-degradable in nature, persist in the environment for a long time and get accumulated in the soil and water, and pollute the environment extensively. These pesticides enter into the organisms, and through biomagnifications in the food chain, consequently pose health risk to human. The pattern of pesticide usage and the infestation of diseases among the agricultural workers is directly related. The indiscriminative use of pesticides in developing countries has become a major concern in modern day, and according to FAO, every year more than 3 million people suffer from pesticide poisoning globally, out of which 200,000 people die every year. The maximum poisoning and fatalities occur in developing countries. Wilson (2005) found that regular exposure to synthetic pesticides causes both long term and short term health problem. Another research led by Alavanja (2013) found that the increasing number of non-transmissible and fatal diseases like cancer is linked to air pollution in large cities and exposure to pesticides in large scale farming in rural areas. Pesticides enter into the human body through skin and inhalation at the time of handling, and swallowing up with food and drinking water which could later cause physical disorders like headache, epilepsy, dizziness, stomach upset, convulsion, spasm, stroke, heart attack, cancer and many more. In spite of the global concern about the harmful effects of synthetic pesticides, the undiscriminating uses of them have not been checked in many countries. It is reported that around 20,000 people die every year in developing countries because the consumption of pesticides present in food. So, synthetic pesticides have become a real danger to the human race.
Are the people of Dimapur consuming pesticide-treated vegetables?
Now if we look at the scenery of Dimapur in terms consumption or exposure to these pesticides, we would find an alarming picture. The local production of vegetables for over 4 lakh population of Dimapur is not sufficient and the district imports a large amount of vegetables from different states including Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar, etc. Moreover, the farmers of Dimapur, and Karbianglong, Nagaon and Golaghat in Assam from where a greater amount of vegetables are supplied to the markets of Dimapur, also primarily rely on synthetic pesticides. Most of the farmers are uneducated and neither have proper knowledge on pesticide use nor training. Their ignorance on pesticide toxicity and tendency to produce crop faster put the health of the consumers at stake. The vegetables that are dominantly imported are cabbage, tomato, brinjal, cauliflower, okra etc. which are also the examples of highly pesticide imbued vegetables. These are treated with varieties of pesticides like Monocrotophos, Chlorpyrifos, Profenofos, Dimethoate, Quinalphos, Dichlorvos, Malathion, Endosulphan, Bifenthrin, Cypermethrin, Alphamethrin, Fenvalerate, Fenpyroximate, Thiazolidine, Hexythiazox, Imidacloprid, Thiamethoxam, Carbofuran, etc., and they possess a higher level of toxicity. Continuous consumption of the vegetables with the residues of these pesticides can cause multiple fatal diseases including heart disorders, respiratory diseases and cancers. So, the people of Dimapur are consuming a higher amount of pesticide-treated vegetables.
How to get rid of these pesticides?
Some pesticides persist in the environment for years while some get degraded within few days. So these “long survived” pesticides remain in our vegetables in the form of residues and it can be detected through scientific analysis. But, the scientific analysis is not possible at our home; therefore, we can adopt some home remedies for all the vegetables that we buy from the market before we eat it. Some of these easy and effective home remedies include-
Wash the vegetables with salt water:
Washing the vegetables with 2% of salt water can remove a greater amount of pesticides. Moreover, a proper washing of vegetables with cold water also can remove some quantity of pesticides present on the surface of vegetables and fruits.
Washing vegetables with Vinegar solution:
A solution of vinegar and water (1: 9; 10 ml vinegar in 90 ml water) is effective in removing pesticides from vegetables. Dip the vegetables for around five minutes in the solution and rinse it properly.
A mixture of lemon juice, vinegar and salt water also effectively used to wash vegetables and fruits to remove pesticides.
Dipping vegetables in baking soda solution:
Till 90% of the surface pesticide residues can be removed by dipping the vegetables in a solution of baking soda.
Peeling of the vegetables:
Peeling of the fruits and vegetables which have skin can reduce the amount of pesticide residues.
Since the increase of crop productivity is very important to fulfill the food demand of increasing population, we cannot deny the use of pesticides. The civil society and government should work in tandem to bring awareness of the judicious use of pesticides, their toxicity, and importance of organic pesticides should be promoted extensively. Proper training of farmers on standardized application of pesticides can change the present scenario of pesticide pollution and health hazards.
(The author is indebted to Dr Amrit Puzari, Associate Professor, Department of Science and Humanities-Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Nagaland, for his intellectual input in the work)
The writer is Asst. Professor, Department of Botany, St. John College, Dimapur & Research Scholar, National Institute of Technology Nagaland, Chümoukedima, Dimapur
