Safe and Judicious Pesticide Use

Consensus for Pesticide Safety in the EU

2008-11-03T06:11:00.002+05:30

English-speaking farmers seem to have an advantage. They can participate meaningfully in regulations that affect their sources of income. It would be rare to find a web site from an emerging economy similar to the following one:

http://www.nfuonline.com/x32298.xml

The interests of farmers are most prominent in negotiations about world trade. Politicians from countries with large agrarian populations are careful not to concede any quarter to forces that compete with their constituencies. Here is a link to the subject:

http://www.carnegieendowment.org/events/index.cfm?fa=eventDetail&id=894

We have a contrary position with respect to pesticide safety. Farmers from the third world have nearly no say in deciding on matters of pesticide regulation. Much of this, until now, has been due to language and literacy barriers. Multi-media Internet on broad-band connections offer new possibilities to make the voices of farmers heard.

Pesticide safety standards can improve best through the active participation of farmers and spray operators. We can devise more practical safeguards against harmful exposure. Such an approach will also reduce gaps between regulations on paper and common practices in fields.

You can use a web site such as the one below to record the pesticide safety views of farmers who are not fluent in English:

http://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail?pid=32892

You can contribute your interviews with farmers to my web site, or I can help you establish your own place for audio files on the Internet.

A Key Pesticide Safety Assurance

2008-11-01T18:03:00.002+05:30

Food safety is a unifying and universal aim. The pesticide industry, regulators, and activists who work to ban pesticides, can all come together on a platform of food safety. No stakeholder of the world pesticide business wants children and other consumers to consume food with harmful pesticide residues.

I see this as a useful business opportunity for the pesticide industry. Can we do more to ensure that farm produce is safe for human consumption?All manufacturers have the infrastructure to test crop samples for residues of their products. Extension networks that promote and sell pesticide brands can be used to make pre harvest intervals a reality.

All food on retail shelves that is guaranteed against harmful pesticide residues is bound to enjoy high demand. It can also be a route to spatial differentiation. Here is a link which attempts such branding:

http://www.financiarul.ro/2008/10/31/romanian-fruit-and-vegetables-do-not-exceed-allowed-pesticides-concentrations-agriculture-minister-says/

It is time to make new definitions for every business of pesticides. Let us sell solutions rather than physical brands alone. Fresh fruits and vegetables are great places to start.

A Pesticide Safety Response to the EU Regulatory Challenge

2008-11-01T04:48:00.002+05:30

New EU regulations for pesticides have sparked much controversy. There is a large body of opinion that the proposals will render European agriculture nearly impossible. Here is one link to support such a view:

http://www.alphagalileo.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=readrelease&releaseid=533386&ez_search=1

I am nonplussed by the rejection of risk assessment as a guide for the approval of pesticide molecules. How can we manage pests if intrinsic CMR is held against established pesticides?

The die is nearly cast. EU Ministers will vote on the proposed new rules in less than a week from today. Can China and India do more than merely watch from the side-lines? I believe that a pro-active pesticide safety response is appropriate. Here is a list of elements that can meet public concerns about pesticides:

1. Bundling of protective gear with pesticide packs to make safe use a practical norm.

2. Investment in provisions for skilled manpower for safe pesticide application.

3. Benchmarking with cellular telecommunications and Internet banking to build online databases of safe pesticide use.

4. Remediation systems that address collateral and off-target pesticide effects.

5. Assurances for urban consumers with respect to food safety from dangerous pesticide residues.

These five steps imply a new template for the way in which a pesticide business is conducted. It is a hard bullet to bite, but it is better than threats to ban large swathes of pesticides on which we depend for food security, public health, and our livelihoods.

Stewardship is an easy route to making the new world of pesticide safety a reality. This function has to be invited to the vanguard of the world business. It requires top-management commitment. Use it as a life-raft, rather than view it as an impediment.

I invite your comments. Please post below. It is not essential to disclose your identity.

Throw Out the Pesticide Safety Baby With The Sea Water

2008-10-30T13:12:00.002+05:30

The shipping accident in the Philippines does not have any specific pesticide at its core. That is why the logic of the action reported at the following link eludes me:

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/129751/Pineapple-growers-end-endosulfan-use

There are important lessons for the pesticide industry in this regrettable matter, as in all adverse events. Some competitors may rub their hands in glee at the new business prospects of yet another ill-advised pesticide ban. However, something similar or worse could happen tomorrow to the beneficiaries of today.

Shipping accidents have involved all manners of cargo, including polluting ones such as crude oil. That has not stopped any world trade in the affected commodities. Nevertheless, pro-active measures will be more productive than recrimination alone.

Many countries use pesticides made in other countries. Sea lanes are irreplaceable for world trade in pesticides. The pesticide industry can do more to equip shipping companies with all the information and material resources to deal with accidents that are part and parcel of the very business.

Packaging development is another issue to consider. Pesticides transported over the high seas should be presented in ways that resist corrosion, pressure, and the other stresses of being submerged. The adverse incident in Philippine waters indicates that RFID can be used to improve safety in this dimension of a world pesticide business.

It remains to be said that pineapples in the Philippines will not benefit from the action proposed at the link I have provided above.

Genetic Engineering, Agronomy, and Pesticide Safety

2008-10-30T07:56:00.005+05:30

Controversy over cotton with the B.t. gene persists. Some agronomists celebrate the suppression of lepidopteran pests, while others predict resurgence. A renewed thrust by hemipterans in the meantime cannot be denied. The neonicotinoid success story has been built largely on the changed pest dynamics of genetically engineered crops.

I was in the cotton-growing belt of Northern India recently. B.t. cotton helps with dermal exposure to pesticides, regardless of what it does to pests. B.t, cotton plants have just about half the vegetation of the improved varieties that farmers in Punjab and Haryana grew earlier. Moreover, the plant population per acre has been cut drastically. Here are sequential photographs of the two kinds of cotton near harvest:

I have realized from this example that breeders have important roles in pesticide safety. I invite your views. Please post below.

A Typical Pesticide Safety Case

2008-10-29T08:25:00.003+05:30

The countryside that borders the highway North from India's capital city is a prime agricultural zone. Punjab and Haryana are the granaries of one of the most populous nations on Earth. Farmers in this belt grow vegetables for the clusters of cities around, apart from vast quantities of cereals and oilseeds.

The scene in the video below is common. Many key pesticide safety concepts are violated in this case

Please post your views below after viewing the video clip above. I would like to start a dialog on practical issues in pesticide safety.

Children and Pesticide Safety

2008-10-27T06:15:00.003+05:30

Date: October 23, 2008

Time: Around dusk

Place: Chavda Farm House, Pinjupura, on road from Hissar to Narwana in Haryana, India

Tank mix: Nurelle of Dow and Novaluron of Indofil

The children strolled on to the field even as simultaneous spraying and harvesting were in progress.

We need to do much more to protect children from pesticide abuse. Rural and urban children need separate sets of protective measures. Exposure is a major challenge for farm families. Residues beyond MRLs are unknown issues for children in cities.

Extension services at points of purchase would be most effective under the present system of pesticide marketing. An alternative is to regulate and monitor all purchases, but the administrative commitment is probably lacking, going by the experience with prescription medicines in India.

Please post below or write to sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you have suggestions to safeguard the futures of our children.

A Pesticide Safety Guarantee from Farmers to City Folk

2008-10-26T09:35:00.007+05:30

Farmers deserve special considerations. They are subject to the vagaries of nature. Fertile land is chronically under-valued. Output prices do not include the true costs of farm labor. Villages lack infrastructure that urban centers take for granted.

The PHI is an exception. Even if you buy organic produce in a city market, you have to do so on trust. The United States has elaborate measures to check farm produce for pesticide residues, but such provisions in most countries exist only in regulatory files.

Urban communities depend upon their rural peers for safe food supplies. The picture below is enacted every day around Indian towns and in our farms. All stakeholders lose out in the process. The person who sprays pesticides without protective gear faces grave risks of acute poisoning. Anyone who eats vegetables grown as in the picture is vulnerable to chronic and sub-acute toxicities.

It is time to use Community Supported Agriculture for all our vegetable supplies, fruits, and salad ingredients. Write to me or post below if you would like to launch a CSA project near your retail area.

Pesticide Safety for the Skin

2008-10-25T05:59:00.009+05:30

I discern a pattern throughout Haryana. Please check and let me know if you have similar experiences. The Dermatology Clinics have the longest queues of patients in rural hospitals. Here is a picture from Ambala in Haryana that I took yesterday.

I walked through the hospital several times. There were no matching crowds in any of the other Departments. I recall my visit to Badoli in Sonepat during August this year. Nearly all the farmers in our meeting had skin ailments. Here is a picture of the gathering:

There are two disturbing features of this vast problem. One is beyond my control. It relates to untreated effluent streams of industrial units in rural areas. Here is a picture from the highway that links Ambala with Chandigarh:

The stench from the drain is unbearable. Important politicians and officials drive past this disaster every day.

There is another aspect of pollution that affects all pesticide professionals. We can make deep inroads against dermal toxicity through simple acts. Gloves and plastic outer clothing are effective ways of reducing dermal exposure. Pesticide containers are handled without gloves at retail points, during transport, and in storage as well. Here is evidence from Kalaiwal near Kaithal:

Sitaram has assured me that his brother and he will start using gloves and other protective gear. I have to arrange for delivery at the earliest.

Please resolve to prevent dermal toxicity. Human lives are in your hands.

Biologicals Should Replace Chemical Pesticides at Harvest for Safety

2008-10-24T07:47:00.003+05:30

The familiar smell of hydrocarbons awoke me from slumber. I am glad that happened because dozing in the front seat is always unsafe. It had been a long day, and my friendly host Shri Hublikar had given me a delicious lunch. The back seat was full of safety gear so there was no choice but to sit next to Shri Vikas the driver.

It was nearly dusk on October 23rd 2008. We were near Kalaiwat on the road from Sirsa to Narwana in Haryana. The Chawda Farm House is managed by immigrant labor from Panipat. Sitaram, son of Rajendra Singh was spraying an irrational tank mix of pesticides. He had chosen Nurelle of Dow Agro, which contains the deadly combination of Chloropyriphos and Cypermethrin. He then added Novaluron of Indofil, unaware that he was simply wasting money in the bargain.

There was worse to follow. Sitaram's brother was spraying without protective gear. His calves were drenched in the toxic brew. He was unaware of safe pesticide application principles, but gratefully accepted my offer of plastic clothing on subsidy. I will arrange for this in due course, as all the kits I had were used at Ambala just a few days earlier.

Sitaram's wife and father were harvesting even as the spray was in progress. His children were playing in the field as well. I asked them to leave, though this did not please the family too much. Here is one photographic record of the shocking scene:

I have more pictures and a video as well. I deeply regret the lack of professional commitment of all pesticide professionals, including myself, who allow such threats to our communities.

I will write a series of posts on this matter. Please help me ameliorate this enormous risk to our collective national wellness. I ask for a first step today. Please let us keep biologicals in our product ranges, and do all we can to respect pre-harvest intervals. I have to say that the field in the picture above was heavily damaged by leaf-eating and sucking pests. It was ideal for Endogram and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla. We all lose if organophosphates and pyrethroids are used within just minutes of harvest.

Who is responsible for the children who eat the cauliflowers from the field photographed above?

Infrastructure for Pesticide Safety

2008-10-23T06:39:00.005+05:30

All countries that I have visited have more facilities for making and selling pesticides than for their safe and judicious use. Stewardship is generally relegated to the side-lines if it exists at all. All stakeholders lose in this business model.

What a difference infrastructure can make to pesticide safety. This is my cardinal impression from my on-going work in village Tepla of Ambala district of Haryana in India. It is a wonderful experience to work with a committed team. Meeting the same set of farmers, technologists, administrators, and medical personnel, enables one to make tangible and rapid progress in terms of pesticide safety. Here is a picture of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Agriculture Science Center) at Tepla:

I visit Tepla every month, and hope to establish weekly multi-media contacts on the Internet soon. We have already improved capabilities to deal with acute toxicity, and will work on chronic aspects in due course.

Please visit Tepla when you can, and audit the pesticide safety steps in motion there. I would welcome your critical comments for improvement. I am glad to say that my efforts to establish similar infrastructure in other parts of Haryana, in Punjab, and in Andhra Pradesh are all racing ahead with delightful speed.

Pesticide Safety Has Me Over The Moon

2008-10-22T07:16:00.004+05:30

India celebrates a mission to the Moon today. I am an Indian with another reason to rejoice. Doctors Ruchi Aggarwal, Satish Kumar, and Yashpal, pictured below, have joined the Pesticide Safety Network of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Ambala in Haryana.

This is a major step towards providing the communities of spray operators and small farmers with meaningful and affordable ways of achieving top standards of pesticide safety. Chronic toxicity, safe use practices, and insurance for hospital expenses are integrated with the professional medical services for the area surrounding the Krishi Vigyan Kendra. It is a model that can be replicated wherever pesticides are used.

The full proceedings of October 21 2008 during which the pesticide safety network has been launched are available at the following link:

http://satyabroto.podbean.com/2008/10/21/kvk-ambala-october-21st-2008/

Should Pesticide Safety Have Spatial Limits?

2008-10-21T06:02:00.002+05:30

"No, we cannot allow you to work in Kerala".

This is an actual statement I encountered yesterday. I met with a functionary from a key pesticide industry player. My objective was to extend my pesticide safety project to the Indian State that has borne the brunt of pesticide hazards.

It started with ethyl parathion more than five decades ago. A consignment was transported with rice leading to human deaths. Leptophos also ran in to fatal trouble in this State. A needless controversy over aerial spraying continues.

Kerala needs pesticide safety just like any other area. This is a prime place to promote the safe and judicious use of pesticides. I regret that an influential industry-member does not wish to engage in pesticide safety as a core activity of its organization.

Please post below or write to sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you know of an entity that is willing to support a pesticide safety program in Kerala.

A Database Approach to Chronic Aspects of Pesticide Safety

2008-10-20T02:47:00.003+05:30

"I feel insulted when you ask me to take a cancer check-up".

This is an authentic statement by a pesticide industry professional. It is common for people to avoid medical help until they feel unwell. This could also be why acute poisoning from pesticides receives more attention than chronic toxicology.

Pesticide spray operators, like the person pictured below, are the worst victims of neglecting the chronic aspects of pesticide safety.

This person could not spare time to listen to pesticide safety advice when I met him last. I hope to meet him again on November 24th 2008. There could be unknown numbers of people like him who spray pesticides everyday. Perhaps they ignore some important pesticide safety precautions. The additive effects endanger their health, though they are sanguine about acute toxicity.

We know from the processes adopted by reputed pesticide manufacturing units that regular and recorded medical appraisals are essential for all people who come in regular contacts with such chemicals. That is why I would like to copy pesticide-factory safety practices for spray operators. Please post below or write to me at sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you would like to launch such a program. Tele-medicine allows us to work together across any physical boundaries.

Networking for Pesticide Safety

2008-10-19T07:43:00.002+05:30

A pesticide label is easy to read. Preventing deaths in poisoning cases is another matter. The medical management of pesticide poisoning calls for a calm minds, clear algorithms of treatment, readily-available antidotes, and reference facilities. Published clinical records are rare though plenty of cases surface during spraying seasons.

The Internet facilitates better pesticide safety. We can use the World Wide Web to tackle both acute and chronic pesticide dangers. The coming week is important to me as I will commence a pesticide safety network in Ambala, Haryana. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra will help me bring doctors and spray operators on a common platform for improved pesticide safety.

I would like to work with you, wherever you may be located, for pesticide safety. We can use the Internet for regular and emergency communications, and meet face-to-face on occasion as well. Please post below or write to sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you would like to join a pesticide safety network. I am willing to join your networks as well, provided that they relate to pesticide safety.

Let us work together to promote the safe and judicious use of pesticides.

No Pesticide Safety in a Tank Mix

2008-10-18T08:33:00.002+05:30

Regulation of combination pesticides is a grave task. There was a time when combinations of pesticides were banned in India. The pesticide industry has managed a few registrations under the new dispensation, but they remain largely restricted. Acute toxicity is a severe hazard with any combination pesticide. This potentially fatal risk is accentuated by the modern trend of marketing pesticides without known antidotes. Moreover, antidotes and treatment measures are specific to chemical groups, and may be contra-indicated for pesticide combination partners. Combinations of pesticides with hydrocarbons complicate the medical task of lavage in poisoning emergencies. The pesticide industry and land-lords may love combination products, but they are crippling burdens for landless laborers who are forced to spray such products to earn their livings. I have sold combination-pesticides at the start of my career, but am now in favor of rotational spray schedules with single ingredients.

A tank-mix in the field is far worse than a pesticide that the industry has persuaded regulators to register. Brand owners will employ safeguards to use compatible solvents and emulsifiers and reduce obvious phyto-toxicity. Medical toxicologists have to apply their minds to the management of poisoning cases before they approve labels of such pesticide combination products. Nothing of the sort happens when a large farmers orders his laborers to make and use untested combinations of pesticides.

I have a pesticide safety project in Northern India. This takes me to growing fields in the area every month. The over-riding impression I have is of the ubiquitous use of unregistered products and of illegal combinations. I challenge you. Drive in to any high pesticide-use area in India, and you will find tank-mixes to be awfully common. How should doctors manage poisoning cases involving tank-mixes of pesticides? This will be my focus area as I tour North India next week.

Please raise your voice against the illicit practice of tank-mixes of pesticides. Ask sellers to desist from encouraging such abuses of pesticides. Request farmers to desist from this pernicious practice. Ask regulators to be vigilant and resolute in stopping pesticide abuse. Together, we can make pesticide safety a reality.

Pesticide Safety is Good for Business

2008-10-17T04:50:00.001+05:30

Should the pesticide industry worry about PHI defaults? Does it make business sense to restrict sales in order to control abuse of pesticides? Perhaps you have some answers ready in your mind if you work in the pesticide industry. However, please read the information at the following link and see if you change your opinion:

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/10/15/High_level_of_pesticides_in_Chinese_beans/UPI-14241224066820/

Japan ranks at the very top of stiff pesticide regulation. It is entirely possible that farm produce in other countries also reaches retail shelves with pesticide residues above MRLs. This is why organic produce has gained such currency though science shows that food full of microbes may not be safe for ingestion.

The pesticide industry will grow faster and in more stable manner if safe and judicious use is promoted actively. Do you have success stories with respect to PHIs and re-entry period compliance? I would love to hear from you. Please resolve that you will not allow PHI violations in your jurisdiction, from now onwards. That should get the New Year off to a winning start.

Are You An Obstacle to Pesticide Safety?

2008-10-16T05:06:00.001+05:30

Biopesticides are vital resources for agriculture. Pest management cannot be sustainable without these natural resources. Biopesticides are also useful for the stewardship of chemical pesticides. Endocel is not the same without the support of Endogram. The same concept applies to Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla.Endosulfan is not the only pesticide with tolerant strains of biopesticides. The principle can apply to any chemical pesticide. Post below or write to sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you would like to develop biopesticides to enhance the values presented by your chemical brands, or if you would like to re-launch monocrotophos.

Biopesticides are not only for support to chemical products. They can stand alone just as well. The conservation of pollinators is a key example.Endogram andEndosulfan-tolerantChrysoperla are crucial components in the battle against Colony Collapse Disorder. Europe has displayed alacrity in banning neonicotinoids, but the following link indicates that not enough has been done forbiopesticides:

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008/10/09/Biopesticides_face_obstacles_in_EU/UPI-39611223530074/

Biopesticides can resolve the contentious issue of harmful residues in farm produce. The pesticide industry can promote biopesticides for exclusive use near harvest. Chemical pesticides will last longer if we ensure that PHIs are not violated.

Do you have biopesticidesin your product range? PutEndogram, Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla, and similar agents to work for the stewardship of your business. Start today.

A Tribute to a Pesticide Safety Champion

2008-10-15T05:37:00.002+05:30

I deeply mourn the passing-away of Heinz Imhof. He was a pioneer of the world pesticide industry. Stewardship as a function flourished when he was at the helm of affairs. His memories are indelible in my mind. I am glad that I remain active in pesticide safety, because it is a vital way of honoring Heinz Imhof.

Rest in peace, Sir.

Use, Abuse, and Pesticide Safety

2008-10-14T07:18:00.002+05:30

Does the pesticide industry take stewardship seriously? The material at the following link seems to suggest otherwise:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/29/endangeredspecies.wildlife

Dated communication strategies are not adequate for the global world of today. We cannot ignore unintended effects of our pesticide products. Who will protect pesticide brands if the industry looks the other way?

Colony Collapse Disorder is a case in point. The pesticide industry has not done enough to halt the unexplained deaths of honeybees. Pollination is integral to farm production and to environmental conservation as well. Pesticides will suffer if there is no comprehensive approach to this burning problem. Europe has reacted with bans and litigation against neonicotinoids. There are similar moves in the United States as well. It is time for BRIC countries to take positions on the matter.

The Endogram, Endocel, and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla triad is my answer to the vexed matter of pollination failures. I am open to other approaches as well. Please post below or write to sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you would like to try the system on a farm or if you have other suggestions to combat pollination failures and declines of pollinators.

A Consumer Perspective of Pesticide Safety

2008-10-12T20:53:00.002+05:30

Consumer power is not to be denied. The pesticide industry does not have direct and regular contacts with urban consumers. That is why vast chasms develop between the opinions of pesticide professionals and ordinary citizens. Take neonicotinoids as a case in point. This groups of novel pesticides represents a major safety advance. The pesticide industry has been pro-active in the matter. Some manufacturers have even gone to the extent of voluntarily withdrawing their own pesticide registrations to pave the path for patented neonictinoids. Others have invested enormous resources to motivate activists to ask for generic products to be banned. Has this helped them? Read the opinion at the following link:

http://biobees.blogspot.com/2008/10/imidacloprid.html

The pesticide industry cannot remain a passive observer in the world opinion development about their products. Consumers should join growers, sellers, and regulators as a prime customer genre. Urban communities and owners of all agri enterprises should be engaged in regular dialog. There is also a need to review some agronomic conventions, and to withdraw strategic pesticides from situations in which they are likely to be abused. The flowering stages of crops are most important in this regard. Pesticides have to be used so that pollination and bio-diversity are not affected. Biological agents should have precedence at this vital IPM stage.

I suggest reservation of neonicotinoids for seed dressing. Activists need to be informed that neonicotinoid residues will fall below harmful levels before the reproductive stages of treated crops. I propose that Endogram Endocel and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla are used during flowering to manage pests, and to conserve honeybees at the same time.

I await your views.

A New Pesticide Safety Dimension

2008-10-12T07:02:00.002+05:30

Acute toxicity is dramatic, and hence it gets most pesticide safety attention. Sub-acute and chronic effects of pesticides are controversial matters, and no point of view can be established beyond doubt. The study reported at the following link is a case in point:

http://fellows.environmentalhealthnews.org/newscience/depressed-about-pesticides/

Pesticide toxicology is nearly always studied in animal models. Real effects in humans are generally not studied. Indirect inferences may be drawn as in the report cited above, but the conclusions are open to debate. Psychiatric conditions cannot be studied in animals in any case.

Human safety deserves better. How can we protect pesticide spray operators from open-ended doubts about possible health effects? Responsible pesticide manufacturing units do this through systems of annual medical examinations coupled with comprehensive health-records. This is an appropriate model for pesticide spray operators. I have developed one and hope to launch it later this month. Post below or write to me at sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you would like to operate a health surveillance system for pesticide spray operators in your area.

The Efficacy and Pesticide Safety Link

2008-10-10T13:14:00.001+05:30

There are many theories as to why biological pesticides have not been successful. I believe that it is a matter of professional and dedicated transfer of technology. Consider the disturbing news at the following link:

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/220/653837

I am not aware whether the biological pesticides used in this case were of inferior quality. Perhaps colony releases were not on time. Another factor to consider is whether the farmers wanted knock-down action, though what they choose to use were repellants.

Biological pesticides have to be used in a system format. The Endogram-Endocel-Endosulfan tolerant Chrysoperla is my triad of choice. I am confident of protecting crops from insect attacks using this approach. A bonus is that honeybees and other pollinators can go about their tasks.

Post below or write to me at sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you would like to try the Endogram-Endocel-Endosulfan tolerant Chrysoperla system.

Pesticide Safety Beats Organic

2008-10-09T22:12:00.001+05:30

MRLs hold a key to pesticide safety. The pesticide industry stands to make major gains if we can stop abuses of our products. The conventional position that a manufacturer's responsibility ends with meeting regulations, deserves a fresh look. The pesticide industry needs a pro-active mechanism to ensure that products are used safely and judiciously. We have to assure consumers that farm produce on retail shelves does not contain harmful pesticide residues. This will put crops grown under modern agronomy conditions a step ahead of organic produce.

These are my impressions from the slide-show at the following link:

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/slideshow-to-buy-or-not-to-buy-organic?ecd=wnl_day_100908

I welcome your views on this matter.

Honest Labeling for Pesticide Safety

2008-10-09T04:26:00.000+05:30

A pesticide label is special. You need not read everything printed on soap wrappers, but pesticide safety depends on reading everything on a label. That is why pesticide labels in India have to be in regional languages. The best companies use pictograms as well.

Every labeling defect deserves censure. That is why I support the regulatory action reported at the following link:

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080922/BUSINESS/80922045

Pesticide label integrity is a cross-functional business process. You cannot have the purchase and production guys acting in isolation. This is why Stewardship is such a top management function for the pesticide industry.

Are your labels in order? Do farmers violate your PHIs? What about emergency procedures? Do transporters and warehouse owners known action sequences when adverse events occur? Are your antidotes available wherever you distribute and sell? Do local doctors know how to save lives from poisoning incidents? Have you any data on chronic exposure effects? I can add to this barrage of questions. You may evade answers today, but it could be at the cost of your business.

Strengthen your Stewardship function for pesticide safety and yours as well.

A Must for Pesticide Safety

2008-10-07T19:04:00.002+05:30

There used to be a time when skin cancer was a concern of white Caucasians in temperate climes. Pesticides have changed all that. Everyone who applies pesticides without protective gear is at risk of skin cancer if an NOEL is exceeded. Please bookmark the following link and become familiar with its contents:

http://www.webmd.com/melanoma-skin-cancer/slideshow-precancerous-skin-lesions-and-skin-cancer?ecd=wnl_day_100608

Dermatology is a specialized vocation. It is not possible for lay people to determine the nature and seriousness of a skin condition. That is why everyone who handles pesticides needs an annual medical examination.

Please post below or write to me at sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you need help to arrange medical examination for agricultural labor and farmers to spray pesticides.

Seize the Pesticide Safety Initiative

2008-10-06T18:35:00.002+05:30

I continue with my take-aways from my meeting with Pujya Kaka on October 03, 2008.

His words were not clear to me, but I did not dare to ask for a clarification. He said something about training villagers to act like business executives. I caught the phrase 'take initiative'. There had to be a reason for him to make this remark. It followed his query on whether my project had progressed in Koday.

I thought that a Shroff web site should make things clearer, and I was right. The revelation came from the following link:

http://shroffsfoundation.org/index.htm

I have watched Shrutiben's work for some years, albeit from a distance. She makes a big impact with minimum fuss. She works miracles with scarce resources. She does not bother with meetings, but takes decisive steps all the time. I have experienced this at first hand during the Orissa cyclone towards the end of the last century.

My pesticide safety work has suffered until now because I keep waiting for decisions from others. I will change this from today, after the holy occasion of Durga Ashtami merging in to Navami. Sandhi Puja will be over after midnight, and I will seize the initiative from tomorrow.

Thank you Pujya Kaka and Shrutiben.

A Spiritual Basis for My Pesticide Safety Campaign

2008-10-05T19:46:00.002+05:30

The meeting was not in the best of circumstances. A sudden illness in the family was responsible for the Darshan. Nevertheless, it was inspiring as always.

Pujya Kaka quoted Sri Aurobindo on the subject of India's freedom.

"Every organization must have its spiritual basis in place".

I have paraphrased as I did not record the conversation, much as I would have liked to do. The key learning for me has been that spirituality should lie at the roots of every enduring human endeavor. It is an appropriate reminder during the current season of Goddess worship. The triumph must be of good and not of evil.

This encounter with Pujya Kaka will serve to take my pesticide safety campaign forward. Spirituality was not the only gem I gathered during the rare audience. I will post tomorrow about the rest of my memories of meeting Pujya Kaka on October 03rd 2008.

Pesticides and Honeybee Crisis in Canada

2008-10-04T20:52:00.003+05:30

Canada has joined the growing list of countries with honeybee crises. See:

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/vernonmorningstar/business/30437074.html

It is unlikely that mites or a virus are responsible for trans-oceanic spreads of Colony Collapse Disorder. The practice of using systemic pesticides during flowering is a more probable reason.

It is possible that many countries are under threats of losing their honeybees, though their regulators have not recognized it as yet. There is not a day to lose in conserving this vital resource. Drastic farm production losses await nations that neglect their honeybees.

The Endogram-Endocel and Endosulfan tolerant Chrysoperla triad is an assertive way of protecting crops at flowering and honeybees at the same time. Rabi crops will be sown in India during the next 60 days. This is a crucial time to plan for the proper pollination of oilseeds and fruit trees.

I hope India will not join the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, and Canada in recrimination over avoidable loss of honeybees.

Please add your voice and influence to conserve Indian honeybees. Support the Endogram-Endocel and Endosulfan tolerant Chrysoperla system for IPM at flowering.

A Pesticide Safety Blind Spot

2008-10-04T05:25:00.002+05:30

Society depends on regulators and the industry for pesticide safety. Environmental activists may throw mud at pesticides, and work on some African governments to influence biased bans, but the vast majority of farm produce and vector management remains under pesticide covers. Pesticides, food security, and the management of flying insects, are factually inter-linked.

Pesticide safety efforts focus on manufacturing and application. Storage, transport, and disposal receive less attention than they deserve. This is probably because pesticides are sold in the same ways as other consumer goods. Anyone can buy them, and the brand owner's responsibilities are limited to meeting label specifications.

Here is a link to the implications of neglecting the safe disposal of pesticides:

http://www.watertechonline.com/news.asp?N_ID=70642

North Carolina has uncovered a global issue. Pesticides will continue to contaminate wells and public water bodies everywhere unless we have procedures and means in place to contain this deadly form of pollution. Endosulfan in water and soil can and should be degraded chemically or through microbes after field application. This applies to other pesticides as well.

Please post your opinion below.

Pakistan Beats India in Pesticide Safety

2008-10-02T04:45:00.002+05:30

We are better at cricket, movies, and currying favor with the Americans, but have fallen behind in pesticide safety terms. Read the news at the following link:

http://thepost.com.pk/BizNewsT.aspx?dtlid=185743&catid=7

The empowerment of rural women and pesticide safety are best linked. After all, gynecological cancer threats from drift and dermal toxicity make females unwitting victims of pesticide abuse by their men. Besides, who is better placed than mothers and sisters to look after children, and to ensure their pesticide safety?

Beneficial insect rearing is a top way to involve women in pesticide safety. Endogram and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla can improve pesticide safety levels significantly. This is apart from the benefit of providing income and independence to rural women.

Pakistan has been nominated for an award in 2008. You can win in future by supporting the Endogram, Endocel, and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla triad. Please start today. Post below if you need help.

A Burning Pesticide Safety Question

2008-09-30T21:07:00.001+05:30

Obsolete pesticides deserve special attention. They can negate all the good work done to promote pesticide safety. Consider the information at the following link:

http://milieukontakt.net/en/?p=547

The issue requires a series of preventive and contingent actions. The best manufacturers have integrated systems in place to manage obsolete pesticides in their systems of logistics. However, smaller units lack the resources and technology to dispose off obsolete pesticides without polluting the environment.

Obsolete pesticide management requires a multi-disciplinary approach. High peak formulation capacities help to prevent piling up of finished goods stocks. Marketing expertise is required to follow FIFO (first in first out) practices from factory to farm. Finally, all high-use areas need impervious holding areas in which unconsumed stocks can be degraded safely. These should be operated on industry bases, since it is not economically feasible for each brand to be sequestered separately. Incineration is also a capital-intensive process, and requires appropriate technology as well.

Please post below if you have experience with obsolete pesticides, or if you can offer help to dispose them without harming people and the environment.

PPI >PHI for Pesticide Safety

2008-09-30T19:45:00.001+05:30

Pollinators, especially honeybees, are equal creatures with humans, before God. Even non-believers must accept that we will starve without bio-diversity. Indians are at special risks because so much of our diet requires vegetable oils. We have never achieved self-sufficiency in this vital ingredient. Major oilseeds are cross-pollinated. There is no hope for us without honeybees. That is why I feel the view at the link below is misplace, though it is factually correct:

http://www.agweb.com/get_article.aspx?pageid=145970

I have nothing personal against any Pre-Harvest Interval. Certainly, we should observe them. I do wish the Plant Protection Adviser would do more to fix PHIs for all pesticides. However, a PHI is not enough. Humans do not feed on pollen, but honeybees have no other source of nutrition. It is inhuman to poison pollen with systemic pesticides. This is a death-warrant for honeybees. It is also a prescription for the continued impoverishment of rural India.

There is no time to lose. Pre-pollination intervals should be fixed for all systemic pesticides before the next mustard crop is sown in India. No systemic pesticide should be detectable in plant tissues once flowering starts. Certainly, aphids may attack the crop at this stage. There may be lepidoptera as well. We should only use the triad of Endogram, Endocel, and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla during the reproductive stage of a crop. Contact fungicides, especially sulphur formulations are available for fungal attacks.

Please voice your opinion today.

New Technology Directions for Pesticide Safety

2008-09-29T19:47:00.001+05:30

Drift and dermal toxicity deserve more attention and resources for better pesticide safety. The pesticide industry is the worst victim of negligence in this respect. Please read the disturbing news at the following link:

http://www.gtweekly.com/blurbs/ticker/landmark-pesticide-case-decided

The pesticide industry will suffer the fate of Wall Street banks if the practice of demanding compensation for drift continues. I do not have altruistic motives alone in pressing for time-bound action plans to manage drift and dermal toxicity during pesticide application: these are matters of vital business interests.

Endogram and Endosulfan tolerant Chrysoperla are free of drift and dermal toxicity dangers suffered by their chemical cousins. However, what about Endocel? I have plans in this respect as well, but they need to be addressed with greater senses of urgency. This will be my major focus during the month starting tomorrow.

What do you think of drift and dermal toxicity during pesticide application in the field? Please offer some solutions, or let me know if you think that the seriousness is exaggerated. You can post below without disclosing your identity.

Pesticide Industry CSR for CCD

2008-09-29T03:06:00.002+05:30

There is a new book on honeybees that I would like to recommend. Here is a link to it:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2008202268_fruitless28.html

We do not yet have reports of CCD in India, but could become victims at any time. However, I know of at least one farm I visited in July 2008 that no longer had hives, though it was a center of excellence in honeybee rearing until 2000. The majority of farms under intense pesticide covers no longer have any honeybees or other biodiversity conservation measures.

CCD has devastated agriculture on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. This has led to knee-jerk reactions in countries such as Italy, France, and Germany, which have brought abrupt public and regulatory actions against neonicotinoids. The latter are closely linked to genetically modified crops, because seed treatments with neonicotinoids help keep resurgent sucking pests at bay. This is why the Indian pesticide industry should take the lead in combating CCD in pro-active manner.

Keeping pollen free of pesticide residues is the least we can do to keep honeybee mortality at bay. It will help if all farms that use pesticides keep honeybees as well. This will help to recover ecological balances in the event of CCD. Perhaps we should have a national bank of honeybees, and invest in programs to develop hardy and tolerant selections.

IPM during flowering is another cornerstone strategy to conserve the natural honeybee wealth of India. Endogram, Endocel, and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla makes a safe and effective triad of control measures that can keep pests at bay, and conserve honeybees at the same time.

Post below if you would like to deploy the Endogram, Endocel, and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla combination to vitalize crop yields and restore your ecology to its pristine state.

Global Action by Top Pesticide Professionals for Safety and Prosperity

2008-09-27T18:07:00.003+05:30

Honeybee conservation is not just a matter of pesticide safety, but a platform for assertive global action to sustain agricultural productivity. Honeybees are central to crop yields and to biodiversity as well. Thriving colonies are incontrovertible pieces of evidence that farming is in balance. The absence of their foraging activities is a sign that surrounding rural communities must be impoverished.

Remediation is a vital strategy for all modern living. All farming operations disturb pristine eco-systems in their own ways. Yet, we cannot do without food, fiber, and biological sources of energy. All stakeholders can achieve consensus by taking effective steps to wipe our collective environmental footsteps clean. Rearing honeybees is one of the best ways to do this. That is why I commend the trend reported at the following link:

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/851070?UserKey=

Here is a matter in which India can follow Scotland. All farmers should have apiaries. It is a useful source of supplementary income and nutrition for landless labor as well. Everyone in a village stands to gain if there is at least one vibrant hive. All farm families that have been affected by suicides and related tragedies can make new starts by starting honey production, and simultaneously providing for pollination of their crops.

Honey production and pesticide safety are inextricably linked. Honeybees cannot be limited to areas where pesticides are not used. Honeybees have to survive in the midst of pest management practices just like human beings. The Endogram, Endocel, and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla initiative seeks to achieve this harmony. It is an effective concept, and one which that needs your consideration. Please respond by posting below.

A Bourgeois View of Pesticide Safety

2008-09-26T17:12:00.002+05:30

I am glad to know that honeybees thrive in Paris. Here is a link to this unusual information:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aUzPpUDCkSKM&refer=europe

We need a similar situation in the hinterland of India. Honeybees are at the vanguard of sustainable agricultural productivity. The controversial spread of industrialization means that our fertile zones need special attention.

Honeybee conservation lies at the heart of pesticide safety. It is not enough if Paris has honeybees. We need them for cross-pollination and for biodiversity as well.

Endogram, Endocel, and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla must be the IPM prescriptions once flowering starts in a crop. Systemic pesticides should be restricted to seed-dressing and to the vegetative phase of every crop.

Please post below and take position on this matter of vital national interest.

Stewardship and Unity for Pesticide Safety

2008-09-26T08:20:00.002+05:30

I am pained to read the disturbing material at the following link:

http://www.panna.org/files/CBGSuesBayerOnBees20080825.pdf

Is this fair? What will happen if Indian entities begin to persecute our thriving pesticide industry in this fashion?

It is bad enough to be subject to pressures from biased regulators in other countries, but it is simply intolerable to be attacked by your own compatriots.

Germany has given birth to some of the leading pesticide companies in the world. Here is a link to a valuable historic account:

http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/journal_of_social_history/v039/39.4strikwerda.html

Germany supplies pesticides all over the world. It is most deserving of a special place in the pesticide history of the world. What should we do to stop vilification of esteemed colleagues?

Stewardship, for me, provides a comprehensive answer. Unity adds turbo power to individual stewardship attempts. Neonicotinoids and Endosulfan are both of German and European origins. It is for the pesticide industry to stand shoulder-to-shoulder and ensure safe and judicious use of all pesticides.

I propose that neonicotinoids are limited to seed treatment, while Endogram, Endosulfan, and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla are used to keep pests at bay during the crucial pollination period. This approach will meet the genuine concerns of all stakeholders.

Please post below and express your professional opinion.

The CCD Challenge for Pesticide Safety

2008-09-25T06:41:00.001+05:30

Apiaries in all farms that use pesticides serve multiple benefits. The honey is a source of vital nutrition for farm families, and a means of incremental income as well. Besides, honeybees at the individual farm level may have better immunity to viral and mite attacks than strains transported commercially over long distances. Here is a link which points in such a direction:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2008-10-01/Vanishing-Bees-And-Colony-Collapse-Disorder.aspx

It is time to merge honeybees with IPM. Spray schedules need to change so that honeybees are not threatened. CCD also requires remediation. Endogram, Endocel, and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla form a profitable triad of pest management measures that can conserve honeybee populations at the same time.

I have launched a program for the use of Endogram, Endocel, and Endosulfan-tolerant Chrysoperla, with simultaneous apiary development. The program requires training in pesticide safety, remediation of contamination, and honey production. The program has started in Northern India, and is available for extension anywhere. It takes about a year from start to making the program operational. You can avail of the pesticide safety benefits and economic gains by posting below. You can also write to sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com

Embark today on a new journey towards pesticide safety and rural prosperity.

A European View of Pesticide Safety in 2030

2008-09-24T06:45:00.003+05:30

"No more pesticides, only solutions copied from nature".

BASF is a pioneer of the pesticide industry. It has added market share inorganically, apart from assiduous growth of its own molecules. This is evidence that the corporation is in the world pesticide industry for the long haul.

Read what a senior company executive has to say about pesticides in the year 2030:

http://www.pesticideinformation.eu/2008/09/an-industry-take-on-legislative-developments-in-the-eu/

What is your vision for the future of pesticide safety? Personally, I would like to see a larger role for biological forms of control, with reliance on chemicals that can work in harmony with nature. I see Endosulfan, an innovation of one of the legacy companies of BASF, as an ideal pesticide.

I value your opinion.

Let us work together for pesticide safety, sustainable farming, abundant food, natural fibers, unlimited energy, and agrarian prosperity.

Telemedicine for Pesticide Safety

2008-09-22T20:14:00.009+05:30

Regulars on this web log, and my friends in Kutch will recognize the master-cultivator pictured on the left. Please see my post of August 07, 2008 for details on how Pratap Saparia combines new technologies with traditional methods for some of the best farming to be found anywhere.

Ravi Baug is an appropriate setting for this wonderful exposition of new and old, for the owners exemplify this enduring spirit which is unique, in my experience, to India.

Pratap Saparia is a symbol of the quandary faced by Indian rural marketers of this millennium. The days when farmers would hang on to our every word are over. Now they know more about agronomy than many technologists.

Health remains a major concern for all stakeholders in agriculture. The following link shows that even advanced economies are not free of concerns related to rural health:

http://www.agrisafe.org/

The Internet makes telemedicine possible. Rural communities are principal beneficiaries of telemedicine facilities. Here is a link for using the Internet to stay in touch with rural communities, and to serve them better:

http://www.elluminate.com/

My vision is to merge pesticide safety with integrated rural health. This is most resource-effective if executed on a distance format. I welcome your views. Please post below.

Pesticide Safety Lead

2008-09-22T08:03:00.002+05:30

Remediation is a key element of pesticide safety. Stakeholders with opposing views on pesticide safety can come together on a common platform of water and soil decontamination.

Remediation is a strong point of Endosulfan. This pesticide is relatively easy to metabolize when it appears in non-target sites. We have a variety of chemical and organic methods to break down unwanted Endosulfan residues in to harmless ingredients. A chemical approach is best when ph and temperature conditions are favorable. Bacteria and fungi are superior weapons when ambient conditions do not favor rapid break-down.

Endosulfan presents all the agronomic advantages of long duration control with simultaneous benefits of easily-manageable residues in soil and water. This is also why it is superior to foliar applications of neonicotinoids during the flowering stages of crops. Endosulfan does not enter xylem and phloem tissues.

Remediation is integral to my pesticide safety projects. Please use the following link for a useful lead on this topic:

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1562415/endosulfan_sulfate_sorption_on_natural_organic_substances/

Italian Pesticide Safety

2008-09-20T21:07:00.003+05:30

Italy is not a top pesticide business market. However, it has taken a decisive step to promote pesticide safety. See:

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=222555

Honeybees are generally ignored whenever pesticide safety is discussed. These industrious creatures are not on par with humans, but they have huge roles in preserving biodiversity. Honey and pollination are turbo engines of rural development.

Neonictotinoid residues should dissipate before a crop starts flowering. It is for the pesticide industry to be proactive and steward their patented molecules judiciously. Poisoning pollen is a horrific act, and should be avoided at all costs. Endogram and Endocel make ideal partners for crop protection during flowering.

You may not be from Italy, but you can add your influential voice to prevent foliar application of neonicotinoids during flowering. Please post below.

Conserve Your Nation's Pollinators

A Pesticide Safety Lesson for the World

2008-09-18T14:54:00.007+05:30

The first world is not always the best repository of new ideas for pesticide safety. Europe, the continent which has produced more active ingredients than any other, is in turmoil. See the following link:

http://www.pesticideinformation.eu/2008/09/pesticides-legislation-opposing-views-from-the-european-parliament/

Many countries have divergent views on pesticide safety. Some even try to impose bans on other nations in order to promote new molecules patented by their corporate votaries.

Pesticide professionals know that safe and judicious use is a skill. Pesticide abuse does not reflect on the inherent utility of active ingredients and their formulations.

Ghana shines in this quagmire. It has taken a bold, innovative, and wise step in promoting correct pesticide use instead of dabbling in the politics of bans. See the following link:

http://www.modernghana.com/news/182736/1/epa-to-ensure-proper-use-of-pesticides.html

I congratulate Ghana on this pathbreaking step to pesticide safety and call on other countries to follow suit.

Welcome to Pesticide Safety

2008-09-18T14:54:00.006+05:30

The pharmaceutical industry has a potential role in pesticide safety. Though it is now fashionable for pesticide companies to operate as independent entities, some of the classic active ingredients used in this business originated in pharmaceutical laboratories.

Nearer home, pesticide safety in India needs integration with rural health-care. Many spraymen suffer from substance abuses. Pesticide safety loses some relevance in case people are debilitated by unrelated diseases such as tuberculosis, stomach disorders, inflammation of pulmonary tissues, and allergies.

That is why I feel very happy after reading the glad news at the following link:

http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=334744

The entry of an innovative and ethical pharmaceutical major in to the rural health-care space is an important landmark for India. It is something for other countries such as China to emulate. All pesticide companies should consider alliances with pharmaceutical companies to enhance their product-ranges for farmers and their families. Let us protect people as well as their crops.

A Financial Perspective of Pesticide Safety

2008-09-17T08:40:00.002+05:30

Safety does not have adequate importance in the minds of financial analysts.

This is my impression after reading the material at the following two links:

http://www.bfsl.co.in/Pdf/109%20Research%20Report%20(Rallis%20India%20Ltd).pdf

http://stockideas-pg.blogspot.com/2008/09/review-rallis-india-ltd.html

The pesticide company under reference is a pioneer of the Indian pest management scene. It is part of one of the most sought-after industrial groups in the world. This corporation can rightly claim to have done at least as much as any of its peers in terms of pesticide safety. Yet there is no mention of such exploits in either of the two business analyses referred to above.

Pesticide safety costs money. It does not generate direct revenues. Commitment to pesticide safety separates ethical industry members from others. Pesticide safety is a key driver of business stability in this industry. It is not a matter for any stakeholder to ignore.

I invite your comments on this matter. Please post below.

Toxicology Transparency for Pesticide Safety

2008-09-16T06:41:00.003+05:30

Literacy and consensus are major impediments to better pesticide safety standards. Toxicology is not a popular subject though it is fun to throw mud at pesticides. The result is that the laity gets addicted to plain dromology.

These are my impressions from the article at this link, and my communication with the author:

http://jorma-jyrkkanen.livejournal.com/15014.html

I appeal to people from all shades of opinion to use this forum, or to create their own web logs, in order to promote awareness and consensus on pesticide safety. I am willing to post on any web site, and have enabled all comments on mine. You do not even have to identify yourself here, and are assured of responses within 24 hours of posting.

Everyone gains from a common understanding of pesticide safety. Dialog is the best route to achieve consensus. Learning is enabled when we share our knowledge resources. These are the lessons I have learned from Pujya Shri Kantisen Shroff, who is one of the greatest living proponents of environmental conservation, rural wealth creation through independence, and sustainable agriculture.

The Future of Pesticide Safety in India

2008-09-15T13:17:00.002+05:30

Vast chasms characterize Indian agriculture. Average yields are small fractions of what breeders and agronomists achieve. There are matching gaps between farming by Krishi Pandits and others within localities.

We have a similar situation with respect to pesticide safety. I cannot publish or refer to confidential and proprietary data, However, I have seen incontrovertible evidence that reputed pesticide manufacturers are able to protect their production personnel from hazardous exposure. I also have personal experience of this matter.

Accounts of pesticide toxicity in field and market situations lack credibility because of the amateur ways in which primary data is gathered and analyzed. This is why the pesticide industry is forced to discredit or ignore reports of poisoning, especially of the chronic nature.

The very establishment of an NOEL is hard evidence of the need for pesticide safety. All pesticide industry professionals know of instances of pesticide abuse. It follows that slow poisoning is an insidious possibility. There is no time to lose in improving pesticide safety standards. It is a matter of extension for the technology is nearly as old as the hills.

Many farmers no longer handle pesticides directly any longer. Professional application, as required for industrial and home fumigation is not yet a must in India, but it is a route for all stakeholders to support in pro-active, positive, and voluntary ways.

Contract spraymen constitute a vast yet poorly appreciated human resource for pesticide safety. This cadre is most in danger and in need of help as well. Many pesticide safety programs ignore spraymen because they are not paying clients. However, the future of the pesticide industry lies in their hands.

Dermal and inhalation toxicities should be primary aims for new pesticide safety standards. Spraymen can be enabling resources for insectaries, honey production, enforcement of re-entry restrictions, and PHIs as well. We can revolutionize pesticide safety through this approach, and monitor progress through clinical examinations, diagnostic tests, and residue tracking.

I have started this work in Northern India and wish to extend the project to other areas. The Internet makes it possible to spread the good word quickly and free of exorbitant costs.

Please post below or write to me at sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you can help.

Are Your Pesticide Stocks Safe and Secure?

2008-09-14T19:05:00.002+05:30

I remember Najafgarh Road as I commiserate with my fellow-citizens in Delhi over last week's horrific terror attacks. West Delhi was scantily populated in the mid-1970s when I had to site a pesticide warehouse. I had to suffer much opprobrium over locating the warehouse so far away from Asaf Ali Road in the heart of the city, where we had an office.

Pesticide warehouse and factory locations cannot be permanent. Localities change characters, and areas which were once safe for pesticide storage and production become densely populated over time.

Public and natural water bodies are also threatened by pesticides. Containment is therefore essential, and there must be provisions for emergencies such as fires.

Now, security is a new concern. Unauthorized access to a pesticide warehouse or factory can pose enormous threats to law and order. We never bothered with such things in the past, but it is a matter for urgent and top concern today.

Please visit the following link:

http://jefferson.ifas.ufl.edu/ag_pages/bioterrorism.htm

New Pesticide Safety Champion

2008-09-13T20:02:00.003+05:30

Do not let the good looks fool you! Chrysopa, pictured above, is called lacewing, and is truely a spectacular creation of nature. However, it is also a voracious feeder. A Chrysopa release can control a caterpillar outbreak faster than any pesticide. This is a challenge I am ready to take at any time. Divide a devastated field in to two parts, and I will bring it under control through Chrysopa and Endogram faster than any pesticide company.

There used to be two problems with Chrysopa. Firstly, it used to be very expensive to rear because it eats so much. Secondly, its tender body falls quick prey to deadly new pesticides such as neonicotinoids and synthetic pyrethroids.

I now have solutions to these problems thanks to the Government of India. I have discovered an economical diet to rear Chrysopa in any village. There is also a strain that tolerates Endocel. These are not my inventions, but what I have found in government laboratories. It is living proof that our government scientists are the best in the agricultural world. We may run after Washington for uranium, but the world must run after us for beneficial insects with tolerances for Endosulfan. We are also world leaders in the manufacture of this wonder pesticide. Europe heaps scorn on Endosulfan because we have mastered the art of making this creation of theirs. However, we know how to make and to use this molecule safely and judiciously. Emdosulfan-tolerant Chrysopa is a gift from India to the world of pesticide safety.

Write to me if you would like to access a colony and learn how to rear it. Welcome to the future of pesticide safety with Endosulfan.

Eternal Vigilance for Pesticide Safety in Production and Storage

2008-09-12T18:33:00.002+05:30

Written procedures and regular rehearsals are musts for all pesticide manufacturing and storage units. Not even the best corporations are above accidents as the following link demonstrates:

http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/eyewitness/0808/080829_3e5528ed.shtml

The probabilities of an adverse event are fortunately low, but stringent preventive and contingent measures are musts in all cases. Most large factories have detailed procedures to deal with emergencies, but warehouses are often not structured for management of disasters.

Emulsion concentrates with low flash points require special precautions. Local fire services should be equipped with MSDSs, and impervious containment arrangements are required to hold contaminated water and sludge.

I am trained in safe storage and transport of pesticides, and offer my services to anybody who would like to use my expertise to raise pesticide safety standards.

You can reach me on 919820188291 at any time.

Fight Discrimination in Pesticide Safety Now

2008-09-11T19:07:00.002+05:30

The Pesticide Action Network North America has posted some views about Endosulfan. I reproduce below my response to this web page:

I wish to respond to the material I have accessed today at the following link:

https://www.panna.org/campaigns/endosulfan

I have worked with Endosulfan, and with several other pesticides, bio-rational products, and organic technologies, for more than three decades.

Pest management is not similar to the very North American habit of owning and driving automobiles. You should not denigrate a pesticide because it is not the latest model in showrooms. Similarly, regulatory actions against specific molecules in certain parts of the world may be influenced by the business interests of manufacturers domesticated in those countries. Please do not dilute the sovereign rights of all countries to regulate pesticides within their own jurisdictions.

Endosulfan does not harm non-target organisms or the environment when used as per label directions. The NOEL, ADI, and PHI systems are specifically designed to enable the safe and judicious use of pesticides.

Endosulfan has a unique place in Integrated Pest Management. It is the only molecule in the world with strains of beneficial insect tolerances. You are quick to report the EU ban on Endosulfan, but remain silent on CCD which afflicts the entire continent of Europe. It does not become you to act as a promotional agent for European neonicotinoids.

I appeal to you to serve the larger public interest, free of abusive discrimination, by promoting the safe and judicious use of pesticides.

Dr. Satyabroto Banerji
B 3 Industrial Assurance Building
Churchgate
Mumbai
400 020
India
skype: srbanerji
Call: 919820188291

http://pesticidesafety.blogspot.com/

Please add your voice to mine. You can write to Panna at the following address:

panna@panna.org

Transactional Analysis for Pesticide Safety

2008-09-10T16:40:00.002+05:30

This post is a protest against the punitive regulatory action reported at the following link:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/09/08/daily26.html

I disclaim that my views are based on my professional career with a legacy company of the one involved. I write in the greater interests of pesticide safety.

The world pesticide industry is an oligopoly, especially in terms of novel syntheses. We all depend on a handful of corporations for continuous investments in discovering new molecules. It is also their magnanimity that can quickly correct serious maladies that afflict agriculture, including the dreaded CCD of honeybees.

Global corporations should be given opportunities to correct minor aberrations in their far-flung operations. It is not befitting to treat them like children, handing out petty fines. After all, these companies have their own internal audit systems as well. ISO 14001 philosophy promotes self-regulation, and the regulatory action in this instance goes against the grain of industry leadership for better pesticide safety.

Thank you for posting your opinion below.

Leadership for Pesticide Safety

2008-09-09T16:44:00.003+05:30

Dr. Upasana Singh, pictured above, is the Project Coordinator of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Tepla in the Ambala district of Haryana. She is not as stern as she appears in the photograph. However, a camera cannot lie. I captured this rare image as one of her colleagues spoke about pesticide safety.

The Krishi Vigyan Kendras of India are effective agents of change for rural communities. All countries can adopt this system for their benefits. A Krishi Vigyan Kendra brings extension personnel, agricultural technologists, farmers, and agricultural laborers together on a single platform. Superlative management skills ensure rapid and faithful transfer of cutting-edge technologies from laboratories to lands.

No Indian can deny that Haryana is at the vanguard of our national progress. It is not just a verdant land by title, but in reality as well. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Tepla in Ambala district of Haryana is, in the words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, one of my temples of modern India.

I commit myself to the cause of pesticide safety under the aegis of this magnificent institution. Please join me and help in this endeavor to ensure safe and judicious use of pesticides.

Small Steps Can Make Major Pesticide Safety Leaps

2008-09-08T23:28:00.008+05:30

Spraying a post-emergence herbicide can be taxing. You have to use a hood, and normally this forces you to bend while spraying. Exhaustion is a great hurdle to pesticide safety, and hence simple lance extensions can make major differences to operator comfort and safety.

I witnessed testing of such a device recently in Bawana on the farm of Shri Jille Singh Rana. I have posted on this progressive cultivator before. The person testing was Shri Ram Mahato from the farm. Mahato is from Bihar, but has worked in Haryana for the last 25 years. He was very happy with the test. Here is a clip of the test:

The attachment is innocuous. However, appearances are certainly very deceptive as you can tell from the video. I should clarify that I have filmed a demonstration with plain water, which is why you do not see protective gear. Here is another view of the lance:

The device will be improved further to strengthen bonding with the lance. Post below or write to sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you would like to access this device.

A Database is a Must for Pesticide Safety

2008-09-07T18:05:00.009+05:30

All pesticide industry professionals treasure pictures of farmer meetings. I love the one above most especially because the statue in the background is of one of my lifetime heroes. I would like to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and devote my life to the cause of my under-privileged Indians.

That is why I am distraught about Naresh Kumar pictured below.

You can read about him in my post of August 14, 2008 in this web log. I made my aloe-vera disinfectant gel with his swollen cheeks and burning back in mind. Though I have never sprayed a neonictinoid, I have plenty of first-hand experience of the hazards of synthetic pyrethroids. I am certain that my gel can help Naresh. Besides, I want him to have a protective-gear set offered on generous subsidy by Excel Crop Care Limited.

Naresh was missing from our pesticide safety meeting in Bawana on the 04th of this month. We could not reach his mobile either. I have realized that a database of all farmers and spraymen is vital if our meetings are to be of any use.

I am grateful to my friends Sharma and Gaur, pictured below with two other spraymen. They will help me locate Naresh when they next visit Tanda, and will arrange for as many spraymen as we can find to participate in my pesticide safety initiatives on a regular basis.

The Power of Consensus for Pesticide Safety

2008-09-06T20:02:00.004+05:30

I realized today that intransigent stands by the pesticide industry ail the entire farming community.

The occasion was a pesticide safety meeting in Ambala, Haryana. The head of the local government hospital, the project coordinator of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, State Government officials, scientists, farmers, and agricultural laborers all got together to decide on a common plan of action.

We will meet again on October 21, 2008. This will be to distribute safety gear, a disinfectant gel, health insurance papers, and insecticide nozzles. I also hope to move to other parts of Haryana and to Punjab during the trip, and extend the pesticide safety program.

There are about 40 families of migrant labor in the neighboring district of Kurukshetra. They have come to Haryana all the way from Bihar. They spray pesticides all the time, and are weary of the effects of the new patented products. They welcomed the pesticide safety initiative most enthusiastically. I spent quality time with Shanker Mandal and Rajkishore Shah pictured below. Mandal is originally from Bithouli in Thana Beheri of Darbhanga district. Shah is from Bagheli, which falls under Jadiya thana in Supole (pincode 852112). Listen to their words at the link below the photograph.

http://satyabroto.podbean.com/2008/09/06/operator-views-on-pesticide-safety-ambala/

Recent European Initiatives for Pesticide Safety

2008-09-05T15:04:00.002+05:30

Germany seems to be on course to follow France and ban neo-nicotinoids to save honeybee colonies. Read about it at the following link:

http://www.panna.org/files/ENSCABDsuesOverBeeDeaths20080826.pdf

I request neonicotinoids experts in India to please comment on this matter. Are our honeybees safe? I checked an imidaclopid packing leaflet today. It carries no warning related to avoiding exposure to pollinators. CCD will wreck havoc with countless marginal farmers and the landless as well. Honeybees are are most precious bio-diversity resources. Foreign companies which own neonicotinoid patents should underwrite the risks of their products in India.

Please voice your powerful opinion today.

New Pesticide Safety Plane Takes Off

2008-09-04T21:00:00.003+05:30

I must admit that superb organization made the day. The meeting room was full right on time. The presentations were received with rapt attention. The subsidized protective gear and the free samples of disinfectant herbal gel were received with enthusiasm. The laddoos did full justice to Haryana's reputation for mouth-watering desserts.

I am glad to say that the new pesticide safety program has got off to a pleasing start at Bawana today.

A New Pesticide Safety Dawn

2008-09-03T14:34:00.002+05:30

Practising Hindus believe that the fourth day of the bright phase of the moon during the indigenous month of Bhadra is exceptionally auspicious. That is why, with the approval of all my friends, whether Hindu or of other systems of faith or ideology, I invoke the obstacle-dissolving blessings of beloved Lord Ganesha, in my new pesticide safety endeavor.

All stakeholders support pesticide safety. I welcome everyone's invaluable contributions to make my humble contribution to this universal task successful. You can post below, or send mail to sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com at any time. You need not disclose your identity. All legal comments, especially most critical ones, are welcome.

My focus is on agricultural laborers who are most in danger of exposures above NOELs. I want to follow the lead of the United States, and use this cadre to create a force for positive change in pesticide safety and pest management standards.

Here are the five principal planks of my new pesticide safety strategy:

1. Provide professional spray operators with protective clothing and aids, remote-controlled and drift-resistant application equipment, IPM knowledge resources, and beneficial insect rearing facilities.

2. Spread the good word about Universal Health Insurance, and provide recorded annual health-appraisal facilities.

3. Campaign against the abuse of pesticides with systemic potentials, so that honeybees, other pollinators, and humans are saved from insidious toxicity.

4. Support the development of new pesticide formulations that eliminate ingredients with untested carcinogenic potentials, that waste precious water resources. and which contribute to destruction of the ozone layer of Mother Earth.

5. Prevail upon the powerful pesticide industry lobby to adopt a life-cycle approach to their enterprises, ensuring clean-up and remediation following use of their molecules.

Now it is your turn.

Follow the Pesticide Safety Leader

2008-09-02T20:34:00.002+05:30

Singur is the most fertile agricultural block in which I have ever worked. I have always envied Robin Bhakta, who was the dealer I served for this verdant paradise. That is why my family name is not the reason for my personal opposition to building a factory of any kind in my God's country.

However, no jumbo disaster can detract from my respect for the House of Tata. The pesticide arm of this conglomerate has always been at the vanguard of plant protection. It has been a beacon for me from the days of Dr. Vevai to Dr. Sohoni.

Please use the following link to get new inspiration for pesticide safety:

http://www.tata.com/innovation/articles/inside.aspx?artid=arpVL36Krrg=

I have developed a new program by following this creative process. I will launch it in Bawana after paying obeisance to Lord Ganesha today.

Please share your innovative ideas about pesticide safety by posting below. All languages and media are welcome, and it is not essential to disclose your identity.

2008-09-01T12:15:00.003+05:30

Fear of the unknown stalks CCD. We know that honeybee colonies all over earth are in danger, but we are not sure of the cause.

Pesticides, especially foliar neonicotinoids and others with systemic potentials are suspect. However, they are patented properties of the most influential pesticide manufacturers from Europe. We cannot dare to challenge them, to say nothing of national regulators.

Honeybees can make a lot of noise, but who is willing to listen?

This is a golden opportunity for the pesticide industry to discharge its corporate social responsibilities. Please lend your capable shoulders for the following burdens:

1. Promote the use of Endogram during flowering.
2. Use Endocel during the cool hours of the day when pollinator activity is relatively low.
3. Stop all systemic pesticide use a fortnight before a crop enters its reproductive phase.
4. Ban neonicotinoid foliar application during flowering.
5. Restrict systemic fungicides in favor of sulfur formulations.
6. Promote health bee programs.
7. Support the development of improved and tolerant honeybee strains.

My recommendations are inspired by the following link:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572

Thank you for your vigorous, immediate, and sustained responses.

2008-09-01T07:30:00.002+05:30

Regulations are not meaningful if the affected public is not allowed to participate in decision-making processes.

Allegations abound about connivance between regulators and the pesticide industry to foist harm on unsuspecting communities.

Controversies about the roles played by neonicotinoids to cause Colony Collapse Disorder in honeybees have caused widespread distress.

Every stakeholder in pesticide safety stands to gain if there are open discussions about the risks of using new and patented pesticides.

That is why I consider the contents of the following link to be a harbinger of positive change towards pesticide safety:

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=EPA-HQ-OPP-2003-0254

Thank you for posting your valuable opinion on this matter of vital national interest.

The dead honeybee below cannot be brought back to life. However, you can save colonies from extinction by acting now to restrict non-essential foliar applications of neonicotinoids. Ask farmers to switch to contact molecules with favorable profiles for all beneficial insects during flowering. Substitution with Endogram will be even best.

Combination Pesticide Safety

2008-08-31T07:06:00.004+05:30

Every one of the three Plant Protection Advisers to the Government of India, with whom I have worked, has been in a titan in office.

I dedicate today's post to the memory of Dr. K. D. Paharia. He was certainly one of the fiercest officials I have ever known. I hated him for a long time because he banned Disulfoton, one of the first molecules with which I launched my career. However, today with reports of Colony Collapse Disorder, I realize that Dr. Paharia was dead right in one respect: he refused to register combination pesticides.

Here are just three of widespread references on how neonicotinoids are suspected to cause Colony Collapse Disorder:

http://bee.airoot.com/content/colonycollapsedisorderpdfs/2%20colony%20collapse%20disorder%20update%20by%20malcolm%20sanford.pdf

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2003/11/26/millions_of_bees_dead_bayers_gaucho_blamed.htm

http://www.ento.psu.edu/MAAREC/pressReleases/FallDwindleUpdate0107.pdf

I can appreciate today that Dr. K. D. Paharia would not have stood by idly and let the honey bee colonies of India die. We need his spirit today to restrict the use of dangerous pesticides patented by European companies from invading our biodiversity. Seed treatment with neonictonoids under expert supervision is good enough: there is no case for their unrestricted aerial application after the reproductive phase of a crop life-cycle starts.

I appeal to the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine, and Storage in Faridabad to consider immediate restrictions on neonicotinoid use, to protect the honey bees of India.

Please add your voice to this campaign in the interests of Indian agriculture.

My Trusted Pesticide Safety Aid

2008-08-29T00:04:00.004+05:30

"Your Aloe Vera has started flowering".

My wife's words were music to my ears. I had never seen this wonder plant flower before.

However, Aloe Vera is one of my best friends. I have used it in all kinds of weather to keep my skin hydrated when applying pesticides. I have also used in when arranging ground flags during aerial spraying.

Aloe Vera saved me during a 1978 pyrilla epidemic in western U.P, Some of the mill areas were affected by black-bugs, and my arms would get small wounds as I conducted directed spraying with surface-tension reducing agents in rattoon crops. I used Aloe Vera with disinfectant to seal my wounds, and to ensure quicker healing also so that I could return to the fields.

I have now developed my own proprietary aloe vera formulation to protect wounds from pesticide exposure, and to promote healing. This product can also be used to clean hands without using alcohol or any carcinogenic anti-microbial agent.

Aloe vera is economical and hardy. Every person who sprays pesticides should have at least one plant at home.

Pesticide Safety and Salads

2008-08-27T15:41:00.005+05:30

"Stop" I cried. "Do not eat tomatoes".

"But I love salads and eat them everyday in college". My son loves to argue and this occasion was no exception.

"This is India". I admonished him. "No one follows pre-harvest intervals here". "I was in Sonepat recently, and discovered that some farmers even spray on the day of harvest".

"What should I eat here?" My son asked me with his head bowed before a plate of uneaten tomatoes.

"Ask your mother to serve you some cooked food". I gave my son a useful solution.

My wife also loves argument.

"Salad is good for him". "You should eat it too". I could not follow why she brought my diet in to the conversation.

"I did not say that he should not eat salad". "I am against tomatoes". "Nowadays, farmers use neonictotinoids and triazoles on tomatoes". As usual, my technical expertise prevailed.

"So what salad items are safe to eat?". I could see a new respect for my professional knowledge in the eyes of my wife.

"Cabbage is best if you wash it first". My wife has never acted on my suggestion so fast.

"Why can't we wash and eat tomatoes?" I knew that this question was bound to arise.

"Neonictotinoid and triazole residues cannot be removed by washing". My answer was pat.

"So what happens with cabbage?" I was ready for this question also.

"Endocel and Sulfex are more popular with cabbage farmers".

Pesticide Safety for the Honey Bee

2008-08-26T17:42:00.002+05:30

It is nearly impossible to exaggerate the importance of the honey-bee.

Apart from pollination and bio-diversity benefits, honey-bees can contribute to rural diversity, including that of peasants with small land-holdings.

There have been unexplained deaths amongst honey-bee populations around the world. There is an urgent need to restore this friend of the farmer to its pristine status.

The uses of neonicotinoids and systemic fungicides during flowering are major risks to honey-bees. These categories of pesticides have been cleared for marketing without adequate considerations of the possible effects on honey-bees.

Please post your valuable opinions below. I am determined to start a new movement for honey-bee conservation.

Sellers Need Pesticide Safety Too

2008-08-25T19:10:00.002+05:30

Every pesticide retailer is a vital cog in the pesticide safety chain. It is nearly impossible to achieve improvements in pesticide safety standards without this versatile and dynamic cadre. However, the selfless people who toil so hard to make brands popular, deserve medical care themselves.

Here are some changes that we can agree to make:

1. Store dummy packs on display shelves.
2. Provide ventilation and chimneys with scrubbers where pesticides are stored.
3. Do not eat, drink, or smoke where pesticides are stored.
4. Use skylights instead of electricity where emulsion concentrates are stored.
5. Teach all relevant personnel to use DCP fire extinguishers, and rehearse use of protective gear and containment methods with local fire services.
6. Do not store pesticides in low-lying areas which have been flooded in the past.
7. Insist on annual medical check-ups for all dealers and their workers, and provide insurance as well.
8. Repeat essential pesticide safety information to each customer. Record the customer's understanding and agreement to follow label instructions.
9. Do your best to keep unknown people, women of child-bearing ages, and children from buying pesticides.
10. Keep antidotes handy, and display the number of a local doctor who can treat poisoning cases.

Senior Citizens and Pesticides

2008-08-24T14:12:00.002+05:30

Even my amateur flash photography cannot disguise Jogi Paswan's frailty. He is an agricultural laborer from village Debra, under post office Parsa, in the Samastipur district of Bihar.

I do not understand the point of India's progress if Jogi Bhai has to work in this condition. He has cancer of the GI tract. I met him in Mumbai a few days ago.

Paswan's owner-farmers do not even spare him the arduous task of spraying pesticides. He has to protect mango orchards, which means that he has to apply synthetic pyrethroids and carbamates overhead. He has no impervious protective clothing, and has not been trained in safe and judicious pesticide application.

Listen to my interview with him at the following link:

http://satyabroto.podbean.com/2008/08/24/senior-citizen-pesticide-operator/

I hope to meet Jogi Paswan again soon. Please add your powerful voice in support of Jogi Paswan and others like him.

A Primary Focus for Pesticide Safety

2008-08-23T06:08:00.003+05:30

Agricultural laborers should have priority in pesticide safety. Their responsibilities include spraying chemicals. Even women of child-bearing age are not spared this onerous responsibility. This community is eager and willing to follow safety procedures, but cannot do so without support from their employers.

Shrimati Waghmare, in the photograph below, is not one to turn any blind eye to her responsibilities. It is my fault for making her blink when I took the photograph. It was dark and I could not check on my photography. She has taken charge of family matters as her husband has cancer.

The Waghmare couple live in village Shekharpur of Kandhar taluka in Nanded district of Maharashtra, with two children. I do not have the pincode. They have to Mumbai for Anand's treatment, leaving the children behind.

They are incredibly stoic people. They are true heroes, more than any Olympic medallist. Listen to an interview in Marathi at this link:

http://satyabroto.podbean.com/2008/08/22/priority-pesticide-safety/

Pesticide Safety Companion

2008-08-21T21:40:00.003+05:30

Anil Kumar Sharma, pictured here is from village and post office Roniya. This village is under the Khidar Sarai thana of Gaya district in Bihar. I do not know the pincode.

Anil has cancer of the bone. An elder from his village, who is a cancer-survivor himself, brought Anil to Mumbai soon after the bone pain started. Anil's cancer detection and treatment started relatively early as a result.

Anil has had nothing to do with pesticides in his life before cancer. He may have everything to do with it as he recovers.

Repeated operations have left Anil's right lower limb shorter than his left leg. Anil used to drive a commercial vehicle. He will never be fit enough to drive one again. He runs a shop in the village, selling items of everyday consumption in a struggle to make ends meet.

Anil has agreed to my following suggestions:

1. That he covers his family with medical insurance.
2. That he becomes an insurance agent and sells rural insurance products as detailed in the following link:
http://www.niacl.com/social-rural.asp
3. That he provides expertise in safe and judicious pesticide use. Though Anil has never had anything to do with pesticides in the past, he is willing to get trained and to acquire the required skills.

Please send get-well messages of support to Anil. You can do this directly or by posting below. Hindi transliteration is enabled at this web site, and Anil is fluent in his mother-tongue.

I have approached the New India Assurance Company Limited on August 21st 2008, for help to market health insurance in rural areas. I hope to progress the matter before this month is over.

Here is a link to my interview with Anil on August 19, 2008:

http://satyabroto.podbean.com/2008/08/21/pesticide-safety-companion/

No Pesticide but Stll a Tragedy

2008-08-20T19:48:00.003+05:30

Shri Ravindra Kumar, pictured here with his wife, is from village Maranchi in Patna district of Bihar (pincode 803301). He is just 26 years old, and a student. He has cancer of the lymphatic system. I met him earlier this week. You can listen to my discussions with him at:
http://satyabroto.podbean.com/2008/08/20/malignancy-without-pesticide-exposure/

I have come to the following conclusions about this case:

1. Diagnostic facilities are much better in Hyderabad than in Bihar (Ravindra Kumar has left his village to study in Andhra Pradesh).
2. Early detection is the key to successful cancer management. A CT scan in Hyderabad showed Ravindra Kumar's swollen lymph nodes at an early stage. There are no guarantees in this disease, but his prognosis is relatively positive.
3. Ravindra Kumar has never handled pesticides. He has suffered from drift inhalation, but it appears to have been below most NOELs.
4. Ravindra Kumar is knowledgeable about modern science, and can become a vital change-agent for pesticide safety in his village.

Please join me in wishing all the best to Shri and Shrimati Ravindra Kumar.

A Pesticide Safety Prayer

2008-08-19T19:35:00.003+05:30

Mirajul Ansari, on the right in the picture, is a farmer from village Vishnupurva in Thana Shikarpur, under post office Maldi, in West Champaran, Bihar. (pincode 845455). He owns one bigha of land, and grows paddy, sugarcane, and wheat. He sprays pesticides with everyday clothes and a cloth mask, washes his spray machine with hand-pump water, which he does not quarantine or decontaminate. He keeps pesticides in a separate room of his house. Pesticide drift is also an issue in his village.

His wife Shamshun Khatun on the left of the picture is an icon of Indian culture. I found it hard to avoid her repeated offers of tea and a meal. Finally, I told her that I would return to avail of her hospitality after Thursday, August 21 2008. That is the day Saheb Alam, the brave-heart in the center of the picture will enter hospital yet again for another operation to treat his bone cancer.

The boy is just 13 years old. He is tall and could have been a quality fast bowler for India. He is also exceedingly bright, and could still be a scientist or a manager of modern India. However, the prognosis of his case is not particularly encouraging.

We will never know the real cause of this cancer. However, there is no doubt that invaluable years have been lost due to poor medical facilities in Narkhatiyaganj, the nearest market to this family's village. These unfortunate people received incorrect care in Betia as well. The cancer was only diagnosed at the Benaras Hindu University,after years of suffering. It has recurred and the family is now in Mumbai for treatment.

You can listen to an account of the family's suffering, and of the pesticide safety practices in this part of India, at the following link:

http://satyabroto.podbean.com/2008/08/19/pesticide-safety-prayer/

One thing on which we can all agree is that this week's operation must be successful. Please join me in prayer for the family. They are our fellow citizens. Later, we can work together to improve pesticide safety and cancer detection services throughout rural India.

Pesticides and Your Food Safety

2008-08-18T14:17:00.002+05:30

My friend Deepak in this picture, returned to India on a holiday after a gap of many years.

One positive change, since his last sojourn here, is the widespread availability of filtered water. We would have to pollute the earth in the old days, to serve potable water after boiling it!

The negative change is subtle, and known only to pesticide professionals. Neo-nicotinoids had not been invented in the old days. Systemic fungicides were also relatively unknown. Nowadays, they are abused in flagrant disregard of strict regulatory conditions.

It is common for farmers to use these kinds of toxic chemicals even on harvest days. Contact insecticides and fungicides can be largely removed by the mere act of washing in running water, but what if the tomatoes and cole slaw in our salads contain harmful levels of systemic toxins?

The United States, where Deepak now resides, has effective quarantine and hygiene systems. They also have CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, which allows urban communities the freedom to access safe food. Moreover, there are strict penalties for farmers who spray systemic pesticides near harvest.

I do not know when India will realize vital changes in the regulation of new patented molecules that are registered with undue haste, but until then, you can copy my wife, and avoid serving salads of fresh ingredients from unknown sources.

I love salads, and need to eat more of them to lose weight. Please email sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you know a source for tomatoes and cabbage free of toxic neo-nicotinoid residues. I am less worried about triazoles because they may help to keep my insides free of pathogenic fungi.

Who Pesticide Safety Professionals Serve

2008-08-17T16:44:00.002+05:30

I will publish no pictures today.

This is a post in mourning.

I write to honor Dr. Raghubir Singh Chikara of Bahalgarh, Sonepat in Haryana. His wife and he lost their only son to lymphoma and its treatment.

Dr. Raghubir Singh Chikara is a hero. He continues to serve his patient community though medicine has so tragically failed his family and him.

Cancer is one of the dreaded words in our lexicon. Losing a loved one to this disease is a shattering tragedy.

Cancer is exceptionally vicious when it strikes an innocent child. It robs families and the nation as well.

It is futile to mourn the death alone. We owe society to strive for prevention and change.

Not all the reasons for cancer are known, but there are certainly quite a few.

Cancer is one of the established implications of crossing the NOEL threshold of any pesticide. Pesticide safety professionals can leave no stone unturned to protect all humans, animals, and the environment from avoidable and harmful exposures to essential farm inputs and vector-control agents.

Here is an action plan for which I request your responses:

1. Store pesticides out if reach of children and women of child-bearing ages.
2. Do not spray in windy conditions.
3. Control drift using high-pressure and electrostatic delivery systems.
4. Degrade residues in water, soil, and farm outputs, using alkaline and microbial agents.
5. Monitor health of all individuals at risk, so that every hyperplasia is detected in time, and stopped in its tracks.

Let us all join hands to defeat the scourge of pesticide-abuse and avoidable ill-health.

2008-08-16T19:20:00.000+05:30

Most modern pesticides have been invented in countries that do not need them. Chemical pesticides involve global trade. Patents are vital links in the oligopoly of the world pesticide industry. Even India with all its scientific and technological resources has never produced a single novel molecule. There is no escape in sight from the domination of elite pesticide producing countries over the emerging and third worlds. Bans on generic pesticides of established properties pave roads for pesticide empires to sustain themselves.

Industries and services have gained from India's concessions on the patent front. Our farmers have to foot the bill. They are saddled with irrelevant use practices when it comes to pesticides that are produced elsewhere. It is not as though they wish to poison their fields and families. However, they need practical measures to continue with their livelihoods.

These are my conclusions from my interview of Shri Karamveer Singh of village Jajal in the post office area of Jhumudpur in Sonepat, Haryana(pincode 131001). I met him on August 04, 2008 at Mahalaxmi Traders in Padri Kalam. Shri Sunil Kumar owns this shop: he is also a progressive farmer.

Please email sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you would like a full audio file of my interview. Shri Karamveer Singh is on the right in the picture.

I have incorporated my findings of this field visit in the MatriMarg initiative for better pesticide safety and rural health standards.

Please post your views below.

Independence Day Special on Pesticides Safety

2008-08-15T21:49:00.003+05:30

The photograph above is from the 25th of last month (July 2008). I have saved it for a special occasion, such as today, the celebration of my land's renewed freedom.

Everyone in the picture has a special place in my heart. But Pujya Kantisen Shroff (Kaka to his flock) towers over everyone else.

The photograph was taken in Pujya Kaka's Kutch office at Shrujan. The subject of discussion was pesticide safety and rural health. This was at my request, because my friends had originally planned to meet Pujya Kaka on another matter.

Please use the link below to hear a record of our deliberations:

http://satyabroto.podbean.com/2008/08/15/pesticide-safety-with-pujya-kaka/

Modern Pesticides Ancient Safety Standards and Assertive Action for Positive Change

2008-08-14T17:15:00.003+05:30

Shri Naresh Kumar s/o Sunder Lal of village Tanda (mobile: 9996324954) is a symbol of India: he is modern and ancient at the same time. He is an optimist as well, always ready for change and to improve. He is my hero and I dedicate the rest of my life to serve him and his ilk.

The spray machine was a give-away. Shri Sanjay Singla and I could make out that this person on a motor-cycle must be a spray operator. These people existed even in the 1970s when I first entered farm-input marketing. However, there were symbols of change. The mobile was most striking. Naresh Kumar gets calls from farmers who want their fields sprayed. You can call him as well, wherever you may reside. Soon, Naresh will have a 3G mobile and the Internet will be at his beck and call. India is on the march!

Naresh will have protective clothing by the time you read this, but he has sprayed with his tee-shirt until I met him. He has never had a medical check-up, and has no medical records. Who will answer to his family if he succumbs to abusive practices?

Naresh exhibits typical signs of synthetic pyrethroid and neo-nicotinoid poisoning. He cannot sleep at night because his entire back itches and burns. You can see the swelling of his face in the photograph above.

I have warned Naresh that protective clothing makes one feel hot. However, Naresh is not afraid of facing any inconvenience to safeguard his health. He is cynical though, because unethical pesticide companies have promised him help in the past, but failed to deliver.

This will not happen again. I take personal responsibility to train Naresh and others like him in safe and judicious pesticide use, just as my mentors did when I was his age. I will also offer him a free medical check-up through my friend Shri Raj Singh of Bawana, and build an electronic medical record for him.

Please hold me accountable for these tasks, and help with all the resources at your command, to improve pesticide safety standards around the world. I am sick and fed-up of idle criticism by armchair-activists. Let us walk the talk.

Tomorrow is the best day to start.

Jai Hind!

How Do Farmers View Pesticide Safety?

2008-08-13T19:05:00.004+05:30

Hospitality is the bonus of every meeting with farmers. I sampled a delicious dessert at the house of Shri Samay Singh of village Badoli in Sonepat district of Haryana on the 04th August 2008. There were filling savories and plenty of tea as well. My only regret is that I forgot to offer the refreshments to Shri Virendra, who had kindly driven me all the way from New Delhi. My friends and I did not need to eat any more all day, but poor Virendra went hungry.

Shri Samay Singh is on the left in the photograph above. Shri Pratap Singh is the other venerated village elder from Badoli. The picture below is of the gathering:

Here are some of the main points I gathered from the farmers:

1. Allergies are amongst the most serious health problems in the village.
2. Health literacy is low; the farmers are content with only rudimentary medical facilities.
3. The farmers are receptive to ideas about pesticide safety and preventive medicine.

Shri Sanjay Singla, about who I have written in an earlier post, made an impassioned plea to the farmers to enroll in health insurance schemes. He narrated his personal experiences in this respect.

I have a full audio record of the meeting. Please email sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com for a copy.

I will use my experience at and findings from Badoli in execution of the MatriMarg initiative for pesticide safety. Thank you for posting below, your suggestions for better pesticide safety standards. I will respond to all posts within 24 hours.

The Seller Role in Improving Pesticide Safety Standards

2008-08-12T07:37:00.005+05:30

I met Shri Ransingh s/o Dharam Singh Saini from village Joshi Chohan, post office Bahalgarh, district Sonepat (pincode 1310021) on the 04th August 2008.

Shri Ransingh is a typical face of modern India. He is a veteran cultivator, and a dynamic retailer for farm inputs as well. I spoke to him about pesticide safety, rural health, and related matters. Please use the following link for an audio record of the interview:

http://satyabroto.podbean.com/2008/08/11/seller-role-in-pesticide-safety/

I took away the following lessons from this encounter:

1. Top retailers are powerful change-agents to promote pesticide safety.
2. Health care facilities in villages need urgent upgrading.

What do you think? Please post below.

New Organizational Principles for Better Pesticide Safety Standards

2008-08-10T22:10:00.007+05:30

It is always a wonder to meet Akhil. Though he is a person of many parts, it suffices to describe him as an explorer. He travels not just across the most inaccessible places on earth, but interacts with varied minds. Many communities have enjoyed his friendship, and I for one certainly cherish my association with his extended family and with him.

Regulars on this web log will recall a post on improving pesticide safety standards through rural women. Please use this link to read the post, if this is your first visit:
http://pesticidesafety.blogspot.com/2008/07/unlimited-pesticide-safety.html

Akhil has spent most of his professional life around rural communities. The figure behind him in the photograph is of a rural doctor from ancient Chile.

Akhil offered the following insights during my interview with him on the 06th August 2008:

1. Rural women are a potent force of change.
2. India has enabling infrastructure for the organization of rural women.
3. Pesticide safety awareness in urban India is poorer than in our villages.

The full interview is available at the following link:

http://satyabroto.podbean.com/2008/08/10/akhil-bakshi-on-how-women-can-improve-pesticide-safety-standards/

I can also send a direct copy to any email address: please ask at sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com

Akhil has let me work with the Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Ambala during the first week of September 2008. I hope to launch a chapter of MatriMarg there. Bookmark this web log for regular updates.

Top Class Pesticide Safety Change Agent Profile

2008-08-09T19:55:00.003+05:30

I dedicate today's post to Shri Raj Singh s/o Bharat Singh from village and post office Nangal Thakran on the outskirts of Delhi (pincode 39). I met him on the 05th of August 2008. He hosted a very pleasant lunch. I look forward to working with him again on the 04th and 05th of next month.

Why is Shri Raj Singh the kind of resource the world needs for pesticide safety? First, he is a man of unimpeachable integrity. He is determined to serve society, and takes on the most daunting of challenges with a smile.

His clarity and vision on pesticide matters are astute. Email me at sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com for an audio record of my interview with him. I also met Shri Rishi Pal Arya with Shri Raj Singh. Arya is a knowledgeable cultivator, but a teacher as well. He had to rush to take a class, so my interview and photograph will have to wait until my next Bawana trip. I hope to visit the area every month to start a pesticide safety and rural health services project. I will report on progress at this web log.

The Pesticide Safety Perspective of a Master Cultivator

2008-08-08T09:42:00.006+05:30

I was glad that incessant rains had disrupted my field schedule for the day. It gave me a reason to spend more time with a farmer of rare expertise.

Shri Jille Singh Rana, of village Siraspur on the outskirts of Delhi, (pincode 42) is more than a Guru when it comes to the cultivation of medicinal plants: he is also an exceedingly generous person, of a caliber that one does not find commonly anymore. Shri Jille Singh Rana not only gave my companions and me delicious fruits to eat, but heaped us with gifts to take home as well.

Here is a picture of Shri Jille Singh Rana in his patch of wheat grass, which he blends with neem and a medicinal creeper, to make an indigenous anti-oxidant (Shri Rana supplies plant material to a reputed herbalist organization):

Here is a picture of a creeper, the stalks of which are added to wheat grass and neem for the herbal anti-oxidant:

Shri Jille Singh Rana taught me about more than herbal anti-oxidants. He showed me the Naag Daman, a plant that keeps snakes away. Here is a photo:

There is also a rare Mor Pankhi or Thuja Exacta plant on the form. Here is a picture:

I hope to visit the farm again soon. There are many other rare fruit trees and plants. I ran out of battery power taking photographs to my heart's content.

This was fortunate in a sense. I used the wet weather to ask the veteran cultivator about safe and judicious use of pesticides. His views are remarkable. Send an email to sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com
if you would like to have a full audio record.

Indigenous Insights on Pesticides and Pest Management

2008-08-07T18:42:00.012+05:30

It was late on the afternoon of July 25th 2008 when Hrishit Shroff suggested that we visit one of his family farms called Ravi Bag in Kutch, Western India. It had been a long day, but Hrishit is a dear friend, so I agreed.

The farm manager, Pratap Saparia in the photograph above, did not make any special first impression on me. After all, I am the pest management authority: what can any farm manager teach me?

The child in the photograph intrigued me. He is Pratap Bhai's younger son. He had the courage, unlike his elder brother and his sister, to ask for a ride in Hrishit's car. His name, appropriately, is Bahadur.

You can tell from the picture that Ravi Bag has a cotton field. You can guess, if you know Kutch, that this farm must be irrigated, because you cannot have such tall plants in July if you depend on heavenly precipitation alone.

I can vouch for pest management at Ravi Bag. It is immaculate. I did my best, but could find no pests. Grudgingly, I asked Pratap Bhai for details of his plant protection schedule. I was taken aback by his answer. I have it all on audio file. Send me an email at sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com if you want a copy. I assure you that Pratap Bhai can teach a thing or two to any pest management expert.

Here is a clue to Pratap Bhai's secret weapons:

I have realized, after my July 2008 Ravi Bag visit, that there is no substitute for practical farm-management experience. However, all was not lost for me as I found that Bahadur had a skin infection and some dental problems as well.

Is it time to move from plant health alone to rural health as a whole?

Here is a picture, in the meantime, of the full Saparia family of Ravi Bag. Daughter Jetal on the right does very well at school. The future of Mother India is safe.

Signposts of a New Era in Pesticide Safety

2008-07-12T21:23:00.001+05:30

It is said that people tend towards falsehoods because the truth is denied to them. Showing people the correct path is often most efficacious for amelioration. Consider the following ten steps. They can collectively meet the concerns of all shareholders.

1. Planning and budgeting at the village and individual farm levels. This is to prevent field-to-field migration of pests, and to keep pest management costs within affordable levels.

2. Scouting to stop calendar-based sprays. Pesticide application only when required.

3. Rearing beneficial insects to cut back on chemical pesticides as far as possible.

4. Resistance monitoring to choose the most appropriate molecule for a brood or a colony.

5. Village community announcements for precautions to avoid exposure during coordinated spraying programs; also to prevent spraying during strong breeze conditions.

6. Pesticide sprays using remote controlled devices to avoid acute toxicity.

7. ph and microbe-based methods to degrade contaminated soil and water.

8. Surveillance to prevent farm produce leaving the village with pesticide residues above permissible limits. Also, annual medical camps to detect pathologies in time.

9. Review and feedback sessions to learn from seasonal experiences, and to plan for the next crop.

10. Extension work to spread relevant technologies for safe and judicious use of pesticides.

All 10 steps are suitable for supervision by village women. The skills required are convenient to develop, and the Internet is an economical medium of real-time communication.

Please comment.

Unlimited Pesticide Safety

2008-07-11T16:23:00.002+05:30

The solution stares in our faces. It is inspired from the world of medicine. Some of the most agriculturally-advanced countries have a variation. However, the Indian version will be unique.

The safe and judicious use of pesticides is a task for the skilled. They call them scouts in the United States. They decide what to spray and when. The system addresses needs of farmers with thousand of acres to manage. We can do the same for small farmers who lack resources for safe and judicious use of pesticides. We can also add new parts to traditional roles for scouts. These additions can address environment safety and human safety concerns.

Where can we find such a cadre? Why not in villages and around farms? We need a caring demographic group. One that is available universally. People on who you can rely in even the most difficult of circumstances. Individuals who put others before their selves. Diligence is their watchword. Their commitments are always above reproach.

Rural women constitute the most potent force in the world. Centuries of adversity have forged their collective DNA. Their forbearance and fortitude are without parallel. All issues related to the safe and judicious use of pesticides fall within their generous and joint ambit.

Let us take this concept to the next level tomorrow.

A New Dawn of Pesticide Safety

2008-07-10T13:09:00.000+05:30

The second half of 2008 marks a fork in the evolution of humanity. Contradictions between conservation and productivity claims on resources have never been quiescent. Moves in favor of and against pesticides are equally subservient to the common ground of time-bound, sustainable development. Inflation, recession, and inclement weather dominate world concerns today, differing stakeholder perspectives notwithstanding. How can pesticides contribute to harmonious resolution?

Who can object to the safe and judicious use of pesticides? It is a platform that the industry, growers, sellers, scientists, and activists can share without hesitation. Preventive medicine does not prohibit the use of therapies. Similarly, organic enthusiasts may endorse the safe and judicious use of pesticides just as enthusiastically as a diligent manufacturer.

Who will bell the cat? Criticism and commentary from an armchair is easy. Achieving better safety standards in IPM, IRM, ICM, and IAP, are other cups of tea. We need a new and dedicated cadre. A community dedicated to health and wellness. People who agents of change for the better. Individuals who live amidst the folk they serve.

Where can we find such people? Who are they?

Come back tomorrow for an answer.

I apologize for not posting during the past week. I have been away from my broadband base, with teething troubles in switching to wireless Internet. My pesticide safety duties will keep me away from home at regular intervals in future. I will try and post as often as I can. Thank you for your understanding.

Endosulfan as a Scapegoat

2008-07-02T09:44:00.002+05:30

A shipping company in the Philippines, with a poor safety record, has an accident with a pesticide on board. There is no word on whether the manufacturer violated any packaging specifications, or indeed if the containers in question gave way on sinking.

The pesticide should be located and disposed off safely. This may no longer be possible if the holds of the vessel have disintegrated, but we owe it to the Ocean to try.

It is bad enough that emergency protocols have been disregarded, but now a review of Endosulfan by the country concerned, pours salt on pesticide industry wounds. Regulation is a national prerogative, but will the Philippines ban oil if a tanker runs aground?

Thank you for posting your opinion on this controversy. You can also email sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com

CALLING ALL PESTICIDE PROFESSIONALS NOW

2008-07-01T06:14:00.003+05:30

Perhaps you do not live in the Philippines.

You may not care for Endosulfan.

Perhaps your brand was not involved.

But you are, no matter where you live, or which sophisticated product you sell.

Please visit all reports related to this link:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080630-145653/Medal-of-efficiency-conferred-to-17-diver-cops

Thank you for posting below or sending an email to sochiye.pesticidesafety@gmail.com

What have you done to prevent such an incident?

Do you also deserve a medal for your timely action to help the Philippine authorities?

Famines and Pesticides

2008-06-29T06:48:00.001+05:30

A study of history is the most engaging way to secular progress. Learning is fundamentally easier than abstraction for the average individual. Neither flashes of inspiration nor propaganda can substitute rigorous review of relevant realities.

Biblical plagues by locust swarms preceded the Great Irish Potato famine. Grapes are important ingredients of the European diet, so fungal attacks in vines were more serious than natural in Asian and African countries. The observation that copper irrigation pipes somehow helped in fungal control gave early impetus to the development of metallic fungicides. Pesticide development was centered during the dawn of the 20th century in Europe. This is why fungicides preceded other pesticide types.

Insecticide research received a fillip when Germany decided to develop nerve poisons. It was fortunate that the country lost World War II in time. The other major loser was Japan, and its insect-ravaged rice crop proved to be a convenient outlet for pesticide companies of hapless German pesticide companies. India had already lost more than 3.5 million lives before the first half of the last century was over. A bacterial infection threatened rice output when independence dawned. That is why the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage was born.

Famines occur due to more than one kind of reason. Inclement weather and extreme forms of civil strife between communities and nations, join debilitating pest attacks in preventing the laity from essential and adequate food supplies. Pesticides save lives. Freedom from hunger due to pest attacks is a concrete contribution of this industry.

Pesticides bring stability and assurance to every user family. Investments in land preparation, seeds, fertilization, and water, may mean bring financial ruin if weeds take over fields, if fruiting is affected, or if the plants themselves succumb to diseases.

Pesticide technologies are multi-disciplinary. They are sophisticated products and require skill sets for prescribed use. Many manufacturers spend as much on extension as they do on the conventional expense heads of ordinary business. Governments also maintain complex systems to help agrarian communities use pesticides correctly. The dimensions of service required are staggering. That is why abuse still takes place. However, famine due to pests may have become a thing of the past in this Millennium.

New Pesticide Regulation for Safety and the Environment

2008-06-28T18:41:00.001+05:30

There can be no lasting freedom without regulation. Anything we do to survive may harm another. Biodynamic farming has its virtues. Will it feed, clothe, and power the world? Regulation is the only way for all people to live in harmony.

Regulation which is not prospective will be deemed harsh and unjust. This is why rules and conditions should be evolutionary. Expectations are Malthusian. Therefore, regulations should also adapt to new times. How can this be relevant for pesticides and their regulation?

1. Since the NOEL is known for each pesticide, the focus of regulation should shift to making it feasible to avoid this level of exposure.

2. Step one above should be peripheral rather than central when it comes to execution.

3. Electronics, satellites, and the Internet should be leveraged fully to promote safe and judicious use.

4. Beneficial insects, especially egg parasites, should be nurtured and treasured.

5. Agrarian communities need local self-government structures to ensure food safety, and wellness amongst people who handle pesticides. Women in villages are invaluable and omnipotent resources in this respect.

May July 2008 witness the dawn of a new era in pesticide regulation for secular benefits. Please participate.