India a big contributor to global toxicity by pesticides, PgII

Key Highlights:

• India, along with China, Brazil, and the U.S., contributes nearly 70% to the world's total applied toxicity (TAT) from pesticides.
• A Science paper revealed that global pesticide risk reduction efforts are not on track, despite the UN's commitment to reduce it by 50% by 2030.
• The study calculated TAT from 2013 to 2019 across 65 countries and over 600 pesticides, finding an overall increase in toxicity.
• India uses at least 66 pesticides that are banned in other countries, according to public policy expert Narasimha Reddy Donthi.
• The Pesticides Management Bill 2025, expected to be passed in March, aims to reduce environmental risk and promote biological and traditional knowledge-based pesticides.

Detailed Insights:

• The increase in TAT was largely due to the copious use of pesticides on fruits, vegetables, maize, soybean, rice, and other cereals.
• Terrestrial arthropods, soil organisms, and fish are the most affected non-target species by pesticide toxicity.
• Pesticides are now pervasive in daily life, found in unexpected places like wall paints, incense sticks, and even temple prasad.
• The current Insecticides Act 1968 is considered obsolete as it primarily focuses on agricultural use and lacks provisions for household and other uses.
• Experts suggest India needs a long-term agricultural transformation policy that shifts away from Green Revolution packages that heavily rely on pesticides.
• The Pesticides Management Bill 2025 aims to promote biological pesticides and those based on traditional knowledge to reduce environmental risk.
• Comprehensive monitoring and regular reporting of annual data on agricultural pesticide use, broken down by active ingredient, is essential.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Total Applied Toxicity (TAT): A measure of the overall potential harm caused by pesticides to non-target species in the environment.
• Pesticides Management Bill 2025: Proposed legislation in India to regulate the import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution, and use of pesticides.
• Green Revolution: A period of agricultural development in India that introduced high-yielding crop varieties and increased use of fertilizers and pesticides.

Pesticide Toxicity