Pesticides and health hazards
Sunday, 16 September 2007
Susmita Dasgupta
In recent decades, the indiscriminate use of agricultural pesticides has created very serious health and environmental problems in many developing countries.
One to five million farm workers are estimated to suffer pesticide poisoning every year (WHO, UNEP) and at least 20,000 die.
This writer and a team of researchers in the World Bank's Development Research Group have assembled and analysed detailed survey data from these countries on the risk perceptions of pesticide users, their pesticide-handling behaviour, and the effects of pesticides on their health.
The research offers simple, hands-on methodology to identify toxic hotspots in any developing country in the absence of detailed information on pesticide use. In addition, it analyses the potential adoption of safer production methods.
In a recent survey of 820 boro (winter rice), potato, bean, eggplant, cabbage, sugarcane and mango farmers in Bangladesh, more than 47 per cent of farmers were found to use more pesticides than needed to protect their crops.
With only four per cent of farmers formally trained in pesticide use or handling, and over 87 per cent freely admitting that they used little or no protective measures while applying pesticides, overuse is potentially a very threatening problem to farmer health as well as the environment.
Overuse in Bangladesh is significantly explained by varying misperceptions of health hazards, income, farm ownership, the toxicity of chemicals used, crop composition, and geographical location.
Farmers identified pesticide traders as one of their main sources of information. However, 54 per cent of the traders themselves reported frequent health symptoms commonly associated with acute pesticide poisoning and 92 per cent freely admitted that they did not take any protective measures while handling pesticides. Clearly, there are large information gaps in the supply chain of pesticide use.
But this problem is hardly confined to Bangladesh. Overuse and other pesticide-related problems are common in the developing world, though the extent may vary across countries.
This research brings to light a range of policy implications. In Bangladesh, for instance, there is an urgent need to actively promote safer pesticide use and hygienic practices among people who handle these substances.
Research findings also highlight the need for policymakers to design effective, targeted outreach programmes that address pesticide risk, safe handling, and protection. The approach should ideally be participatory, with a view to addressing the most dangerous information gaps.
Another important finding from Bangladesh, and also Brazil, is that specific crops and geographic locations experience more overuse than others. For the most measurable results, interventions should focus on these crops and regions.
Pesticide use in Brazil, for instance, is heavily skewed towards a few cash crops: soybeans, sugarcane, cotton, fruits and tobacco for export. Policies targeted towards these crops may help sustainable development in Brazil.
These could include strict enforcement of existing regulations, farmer education and training, integrated pest management programmes, or research on alternative crop-specific pest control methods.
Information on how pesticides affect health is quite limited in many developing countries, with many surveys relying solely on farmers' self-assessments of their health status.
(Courtesy : Research, a publication of the World Bank)
In recent decades, the indiscriminate use of agricultural pesticides has created very serious health and environmental problems in many developing countries.
One to five million farm workers are estimated to suffer pesticide poisoning every year (WHO, UNEP) and at least 20,000 die.
This writer and a team of researchers in the World Bank's Development Research Group have assembled and analysed detailed survey data from these countries on the risk perceptions of pesticide users, their pesticide-handling behaviour, and the effects of pesticides on their health.
The research offers simple, hands-on methodology to identify toxic hotspots in any developing country in the absence of detailed information on pesticide use. In addition, it analyses the potential adoption of safer production methods.
In a recent survey of 820 boro (winter rice), potato, bean, eggplant, cabbage, sugarcane and mango farmers in Bangladesh, more than 47 per cent of farmers were found to use more pesticides than needed to protect their crops.
With only four per cent of farmers formally trained in pesticide use or handling, and over 87 per cent freely admitting that they used little or no protective measures while applying pesticides, overuse is potentially a very threatening problem to farmer health as well as the environment.
Overuse in Bangladesh is significantly explained by varying misperceptions of health hazards, income, farm ownership, the toxicity of chemicals used, crop composition, and geographical location.
Farmers identified pesticide traders as one of their main sources of information. However, 54 per cent of the traders themselves reported frequent health symptoms commonly associated with acute pesticide poisoning and 92 per cent freely admitted that they did not take any protective measures while handling pesticides. Clearly, there are large information gaps in the supply chain of pesticide use.
But this problem is hardly confined to Bangladesh. Overuse and other pesticide-related problems are common in the developing world, though the extent may vary across countries.
This research brings to light a range of policy implications. In Bangladesh, for instance, there is an urgent need to actively promote safer pesticide use and hygienic practices among people who handle these substances.
Research findings also highlight the need for policymakers to design effective, targeted outreach programmes that address pesticide risk, safe handling, and protection. The approach should ideally be participatory, with a view to addressing the most dangerous information gaps.
Another important finding from Bangladesh, and also Brazil, is that specific crops and geographic locations experience more overuse than others. For the most measurable results, interventions should focus on these crops and regions.
Pesticide use in Brazil, for instance, is heavily skewed towards a few cash crops: soybeans, sugarcane, cotton, fruits and tobacco for export. Policies targeted towards these crops may help sustainable development in Brazil.
These could include strict enforcement of existing regulations, farmer education and training, integrated pest management programmes, or research on alternative crop-specific pest control methods.
Information on how pesticides affect health is quite limited in many developing countries, with many surveys relying solely on farmers' self-assessments of their health status.
(Courtesy : Research, a publication of the World Bank)