The Times of India | Jayashree Nandi | TNN, NEW DELHI: Innumerable guidelines, rules and safety standards may be in place to regulate pesticide usage but guess who call the shots? Pesticide dealers.
They decide which pesticide and in what quantities are to be used by farmers.
A recent Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) study found that government's extension services to monitor pesticide usage have failed completely in reaching out to farmers. Farmers say they have no option but to depend on pesticide dealers for advice. Recommendations from agriculture universities don't reach them. They end up using any pesticide indiscriminately no matter how toxic.