Pesticide use in Bangladesh tripled in 10 years

The use of toxic pesticides by Bangladeshi farmers increased by 328 percent during the past 10 years, posing a serious health hazards on human health due to its long-term residual effect, according to a study released by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) on Wednesday.

The survey, studying the use of toxic pesticides in farmland during 1997 to 2008, showed that in 1997 the use of pesticides in Bangladesh was more than 8,000 tons; it doubled to 16,000 tons in 2000; in 2005-06, it increased to nearly 20,000 tons and in 2008 it rose up to 48,690 tons.

The insecticides, being the dominant item, account for 76 percent of the pesticides, and per hectare use of pesticides increase around 598.8 percent and its annual import cost stands nearly at 171.43 million U.S. dollars, ASM Nazrul Islam, principal scientific officer of Agricultural Economics Division of BRRI told Xinhua on Wednesday.

According to the study, the intensity of pesticide use was found especially higher in vegetables in Bangladesh, compared to other countries in the world.

The overuse of pesticides has been identified as one of the reasons for the decline in the overall export of vegetables from Bangladesh, the survey said.

The study said the residual effect of these toxic chemicals on vegetables are likely to create different diseases in human bodies including cancer, skin diseases, hypertension and kidney diseases as its long term effect.

The use of pesticides in vegetables is likely to grow further in the future unless appropriate alternatives, based on integrated pest management approaches, are developed, warned the study.
 
(Source: I Stock Analyst )