We hear that endosulfan is banned globally and it is against Indian interests and that the European Union and the corporates are behind it. India is a big country and we do not know what happens in one area of the country or how New Delhi is responding to that. So let me try to walk you on this issue. I went to Kasargod as team member of Thanal, a...

Blame the poor enforcement of the Integrated Pest Management policy for the toxins in your salad Here is a scary story about Pesticides from an enterprising farmer. Subramaniam Kannaiyan — from Thalavady village in Erode, Tamil Nadu — blogs about his experiences with Pesticides with respect to a single vegetable, cabbage. Small and marginal farmers with less than two hectares of land are cultivating cabbages on about 3,000 acres here. According to...

In India you have quality standards specifications for soft drinks, but none for potable water. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, under the Ministry of Rural Development, is now seeking to correct the record, and, thankfully, the exercise will cover urban habitations too. The department has found the current legal environment for enforcing and regulating drinking water standards very weak in the country as they focus on issues related to...

The upsurge in the use of the toxic pesticide endosulfan, targeted for prohibition by the international community, illustrates one of the dilemmas of intensive agriculture in Argentina and Latin America in general. "There is always a natural solution," insists farmer Alicia Alem, a member of an Argentine cooperative that produces cereal and forage crops without chemical fertilisers or Pesticides. "In terms of wheat, for example, the cooperative gets exactly the same yield...

Endosulfan, a powerful 50-year-old insecticide sometimes called DDT’s “cousin,” was officially banned last week at an international Pesticides meeting in Geneva. Partial exemptions were created for India, however; the chemical may be used on some crops there for up to 10 years. Many countries outlawed endosulfan long ago because it is dangerous to farmworkers, accumulates in the body, kills beneficial insects and persists in the environment. The United States is an...