The Pesticide Safety Perspective of a Master Cultivator

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?