NGO's clean chit to agro chemical industry

Hyderabad, Feb 23 (UNI) Parirakshana, a non-government medical research organisation, has given a ''clean chit'' to the Rs 6,000 crore Indian agrochemicals industry and denied any adverse impact on the health of the residents of Warangal district due to contamination by pesticide residue.

Green Peace (India) had published a health survey which alleged the usage of agro chemicals in the cotton belt of Warangal had led to retarded mental development of children.

''Armchair environmentalists and a few NGO's are trouncing upon the livelihood of Indian farmers and pesticide manufacturers.

Henceforth we plan to take each of such doomsayers to task,'' Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) Chairman R G Aggrawal told presspersons here today.

''Crop protection chemicals are a must for safeguarding the farmer's investment in seeds, irrigation and labour. Excessive use and abuse of of pesticides by Indian farmers is a myth propagated by few NGO's and environmental activists,'' claimed Dr Chengal Reddy who is the Honorary Chairman of the Federation of Farmers Association of India at the press conference.

''Indian farmers use an average of 500 gm of pesticides per acre as compared to 2.5 Kg in UK, five Kg in the USA, seven Kg in Japan and over ten Kg per acre in China.

Further, only 18.4 per cent of the cultivated land in India received pesticide application, he added.

UNI SM GM 1754