The term pesticide covers a wide range of compounds including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, rodenticides, molluscicides, nematicides, plant growth regulators and others. Pesticides are substances or mixtures of substances that are mainly used in agriculture or in public health protection programs in order to protect plants from pests, weeds or diseases and humans from vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue fever, and schistosomiasis. Insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, rodenticides and plant growth regulators.
The primary benefits are the consequences of the pesticides’ effects – the direct gains expected from their use. For example the effect of killing insects, bacteria, virus etc feeding on the crop brings the primary benefit of higher yields and better quality of crop.
Benefits : ֎ Improving productivity ֎ Protection of crop losses/yield reduction ֎ Vector disease control ֎ Quality of food
Pesticides Effects
Residues of pesticides can be found in a great variety of everyday foods and beverages, including for instance cooked meals, water, wine, fruit juices, refreshments, and animal feeds. Furthermore, it should be noted that washing and peeling cannot completely remove the residues. In the majority of cases, the concentrations do not exceed the legislatively determined safe levels. However, these “safe limits” may underestimate the real health risk as in the case of simultaneous exposure to two or more chemical substances, which occurs in real-life conditions and may have synergistic effects. Pesticides residues have also been detected in human breast milk samples, and there are concerns about prenatal exposure and health effects in children.
This creates need for protection against pests is a given and has its roots in antiquity, when both organic and chemical substances were applied as pesticides. Since then, numerous chemical pesticides have been produced, and now multinational agrochemical companies, which mostly control global food production, apply new chemical substances with pesticide properties and implement biotechnological advances, thus diverging from traditional agricultural methods. Furthermore, current agricultural practices are based on the wide use of chemical pesticides that have been associated with negative impacts on human health, wildlife, and natural environment.
Current agriculture has to deal with important factors, such as population growth, food security, health risks from chemical pesticides, pesticide resistance, degradation of the natural environment, and climate change.
Road Ahead
Constant R&D and new pesticides with organic substance has got growth future in our country as our country is more than 60% agri based. The company’s average growth rate is projected at 8-9%, thus the sector looks sustainable in long run.
BENEFICIARIES : BAYER CROP, MOSANTO, SYNGENTA, SUMITOMO CHEMICALS, UPL, PI INDUS, FINE ORGANICs, BASF.
