Pesticides are indispensable in today's agriculture. This manual
intends to create awareness about the safe and judicious use of pesticides.
Nobel laurate Dr Norman Borlaug asserted that if restrictions are imposed
on the use of pesticides, it would lead to 50 % decrease in production and
eventually increase the cost of agricultural commodities to 4-5 times. Thus
insecticides are not bad, rather their indiscriminate use and our callous
attitute towards them is the root cause of all ill effects. In developing
countries like India, pesticides use has earned a dubious name due to unsafe
handling and unprotected spraying practices. On the contrary, the developed
nations have prioritized the safe use of pesticides to minimize their hazards
on environment, humans and non-target organisms.
Punjab holds 3 % share of country's cultivated land but ranks third in
pesticide consumption with 6374MT technical grade. Due to ignorance, the
farmers tend to save money temporarily by not using pesticide saftey gears,
however, in the long run the health problems arising out of pesticide
exposure lead to heavy expenses. It is generally presumed that increase in
cancer cases among humans could be associated with indiscriminate use of
pesticides. The government annually provides huge subsidies on agricultural
inputs including pesticides, like-wise, it is expected that some percentage of
these subsidies should be diverted towards creating pesticide safety
awareness and purchase of safety equipment. Millions of dollars are being
spent on the research and development of pesticide molecules with
minimilistic investment towards developing safety programme and
practices. Punjab Agricultural University, through this manual, intends to
sensitize the farmers, farmworkers and pesticide dealers about the safe use
of pesticides.
The booklet is available at Communication Centre, Punjab Agricultural University in both ENGLISH and PUNJABI at the Cost of Rs 25/-
