The necessity or unnecessity of chemical-dependent agriculture

The necessity or unnecessity of chemical-dependent agriculture

Mohammad Arifur Rahman: 

The necessity or unnecessity of chemical-dependent agriculture  Nowadays, one often hears that agriculture is full of poison, or that food products are poisoned through and through, and that the sting of poison has crept in—these things are heard frequently. Is it really so? Is everything poison? In the food chain, there is quite a difference between hearsay and what is actually known. The matter needs to be examined with some statistics and theoretical discussion. Thirty million people in Bangladesh are at risk of foodborne illness. Due to unsafe food, the country suffers an annual financial loss of 3.5 billion dollars, which is about 1.2 percent of the gross domestic product. About 1.1 billion dollars is spent on the treatment of foodborne diseases. This is a matter of numbers. Various causes are blamed as sources of risk through food, including excessive use of pesticides in crop production, unsafe food marketing, lack of public awareness, and the presence of heavy metals in soil. In the post-independence period, along with crop production, pesticide use has increased at an alarming rate. In 1972, 4 thousand metric tons (active ingredient) were used in agriculture, but it is now thought to have increased tenfold to more than 40 thousand metric tons. After independence, pesticides have been used in various other activities as well. If pesticide use data since 1972 are analyzed, it is seen that the highest pesticide use in the country occurred in 2008. That year, the highest amount in the country‍‍`s history, about 48 thousand 6 hundred 90 metric tons (active ingredient), was used; at present, it is used at a reduced amount close to 40 thousand metric tons. Although the use of chemical pesticides gradually decreased after 2008 due to the implementation of the Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, project implemented by the Department of Agricultural Extension, its use has increased tenfold in the country over the past 50 years. The number of registered insecticides in the country is about 8 thousand, and the number of registered companies is more than 7 hundred. The annual financial value of this sector is about 7 thousand 5 hundred crore taka.

Use of Pesticides

Many people think that pesticides are used only to control crop pests, such as harmful insects and diseases, but that is not the case. Pesticides are also used to control insects or pests harmful to public health. Pesticides exist in both organic and inorganic forms. It is said that botanical or naturally derived pesticides from organic sources are much safer. Day by day, as the number and amount of use of organic pesticides are increasing, the market scope is also expanding. Pesticides are used in various activities. Examples will make the matter clear: apart from agriculture, pesticides are used in public health to control mosquitoes (dengue, chikungunya, malaria), to control flies, cockroaches, lice, and bedbugs, in household work (to control rats, cockroaches, and ants), in warehouses and food storage facilities to control storage pests, in livestock and animal resource protection to control lice and mites, in industry and infrastructure for wood preservation, electric poles, railway sleepers, and termite control in buildings.From various international reports, it is known that of the total pesticides used in Bangladesh, 90-95% is used in agriculture, 2-4% in public health, 1-2% in food grain storage, 0.5-1.5% in households, and close to 1% in animal resource protection. In agriculture, the highest amount of pesticides is used in vegetable, potato, and rice production. Among pesticides used in agriculture, insecticides are used the most, followed by fungicides as disease-control agents and herbicides as weedkillers. At one time, farmers controlled weeds with hand weeders, but due to the shortage of agricultural laborers and the desire to reduce labor, herbicide use is increasing day by day.Agricultural experts say there is no need to use pesticides as soon as pest infestation occurs. After pest infestation, they recommend applying insecticides only after analyzing the extent of damage economically and environmentally. They say that at the primary stage, using pest-resistant varieties, controlling pests mechanically, nurturing beneficial insects, using organic pesticides, and only as a last resort using chemical pesticides should be considered. In this regard, awareness among crop producers is very important. They need to understand the technique of using the right pesticide, in the right amount, at the right time, and in the right manner. Excessive and indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides has short- and long-term harmful effects on the human body. Short-term effects include skin and eye problems: itching, rashes, blisters on the skin, and burning or discomfort in the eyes; respiratory problems: shortness of breath, sore throat, and cough; neurological and physical weakness: dizziness, nausea, severe headache, and excessive weakness. In addition, long-term harmful health risks include cancer, permanent nerve damage (serious damage to the brain and nervous system, which can lead to diseases such as Parkinson‍‍`s or memory loss), disruption of hormones and the endocrine system, negative effects on reproductive capacity, reproductive problems and birth defects, and organ damage (permanent damage to the liver, lungs, and kidneys). The whole world is active in solving these problems. It is said that at the production stage, producers must become skilled in technical knowledge. Along with the use of organic pesticides to protect the agricultural environment, mechanical control, using light traps and pheromone traps, practicing integrated crop management, preserving indigenous resistant varieties, and following good agricultural practices commercially. Most importantly, there should be policy support for pest control in agriculture, and practical field-level programs should be undertaken to implement it. The Department of Agricultural Extension has had some success in this regard; they speak of integrated pest management at the field level and later have worked on integrated crop management. They have trained manpower at the field level on the aforementioned issues. It is necessary to update the trained manpower on modern environmentally friendly pest management concepts and extend the technology at the field level. Producers can make the greatest contribution by properly following environmentally friendly agricultural production techniques and using agricultural inputs at approved and rational levels. In the use of excessive fertilizer and pesticides, the amount of loss is greater than the profit. In the post-independence period, the country‍‍`s population has increased by more than double, while the amount of land under cultivation has decreased in parallel. To meet the food security of a larger population, the expansion of modern technology in our country‍‍`s agriculture has also occurred. At one time, a subsistence farming system existed, but the government wants to move out of it and transform it into modern commercial agriculture. The country has now advanced considerably in food grain production. Now what is needed is the production and marketing of quality agricultural products. Through the slogan of the Green Revolution, hybrid varieties were introduced in the country, and along with the use of deep irrigation, the use of fertilizers and pesticides as chemical inputs in agriculture began. At first, farmers were unwilling to use them, but in reality, in the hope of higher production, they are now using larger amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In this, the calculation of profit remains only on paper. The use of excessive chemicals is having adverse effects on the agricultural environment. Soil health is being lost, beneficial microorganisms are dying, and the presence of heavy metals in the soil is making crops unsafe. Every task has some rules and practical techniques; in agricultural work too, farming techniques are regulated by scientific methods, and farming should be done that way, and it is better to use chemical inputs in the right amount. In Bangladesh‍‍`s journey toward commercial agriculture in step with the world, I do not think there is any alternative to encouraging and, in some cases, compelling farmers to use agricultural inputs judiciously for the production of quality agricultural products, protection of the environment, and mitigation of health risks.

Writer: Project Director, IMAP, DAE

The necessity or unnecessity of chemical-dependent agriculture