Pesticide usage helps farmers increase their farming income:Kumarasa

Ahmedabad, Feb 14 (UNI) Pesticides serve as an insurance of the investments made by the farmers on fertilizers, seeds and irrigation to their agriculture products, according to S Kumarasamy, Chairman of the Agrochemicals Policy Group.

While addressing mediapersons here today, he said that latest report of the Ministry of Chemicals Fertilisers shows that ''Rs 90,000 crore worth agriculture produce lost to pests, diseases and weeds last year.'' He said that this is because only one fourth of the total 180 million hectares of cropped area was treated with crop protection chemicals.

Presently, the level of pesticide usage in India became very low of only 480 gms per hectare as compared to Taiwans 17,000 gms, Japan 10,700 gms, USA 4,500 gms and Europe 3,000 gms per hectare resulting our crop yield levels comparatively low, he said.

While criticising certain NGOs propaganda about the pesticides, he said they are creating unnecessary scare among the people about pescticides. Their main motive behind this misconception is that they are against the ''prosperity of our country'' who want to see India begging for foodgrains from other nations.

Kumarasamy, however said that in fact even advanced nations in Europe who have very stringent regulations of pesticides use have found Indian grapes safe as pesticides residues are well within the permitted levels. He said that the pesticide export from our country also increased to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore mainly due to maintaining international standard and research and development work.

He said that with the increasing population and declining land area available for agriculture, we had to make step to increase agriuclutre productivity through intensive agriculture to meet the food requirements of the future. ''If we increase the pesticide usage there is no doubt farmers across the country will have higher yields of income,'' he added.

Agrochemicals Policy Group (APG) has taken several measures to educate the farmers on the safe and judicious use of pesticides and are working with one of the leading NGOs group in India-Confederation of NGOs in Rural India. He said that right dosage of the pesticide is very important as of the case of medicines consumed by human beings for illness giving an example of the usage of one or two 'Asprin' for headache relief or some pills for sleeping purpose but its over dosage will defenitely could be poison, he firmly added.

APG is an apex body of the over two hundred manufacturers of agrochemicals and pesticides is committed to correct all misconceptions about the pesticide use in India aimed at dispelling various myths being propagated in front of the people, whereby more and more area is covered under crop protection.

UNI