Tamil Nadu Restricts Sale of Crop Protection Products

Posted by Dan Jacobs|16 June 2015

After the state of Kerala expressed concern about excessive pesticides use on farms in neighboring Tamil Nadu, the state agricultural department decided to impose restrictions on sale of pesticides in private outlets, according to an article in the Times of India.

Farmers who want to use crop protection products will be required to show “prescriptions from local horticultural or agricultural officers to purchase pesticides from shops. A formal order in this regard is expected anytime. Concerned over farmers throwing safety parameters to the wind in their eagerness to save crops, the department has launched a massive exercise to ensure that the field level officers keep a close watch on farming activities in their jurisdiction and also advise farmers on right practices,” the article said.

“Though majority of farmers consult our field officers, insistence on prescriptions to purchase pesticides will heighten the accountability, both that of our officials and farmers,” said a senior official. Indiscriminate use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers has catastrophic effect on land, quality of produce and health of farmers, laborers, traders and consumers, he said.

The department has also decided to insist that private pesticide retail outlets and government-run agricultural extension centers display list of banned pesticides to educate farmers.

These steps have been taken to avoid further embarrassment for the government as a team of officials from Kerala’s food safety department had inspected vegetable farms in nine districts in Tamil Nadu in May and prepared a report saying many farmers were using pesticides, at times expired ones, three to five times more than the permissible limit.