How Do Farmers View Pesticide Safety?

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.