-Down to Earth After the state agriculture department recently passed an order, manufacturers, marketers and dealers in Punjab will not be allowed to sell the toxic chemical or its form The secretary, Department of Agriculture, Punjab ordered on October 23, 2018 that the herbicide glyphosate would now be regulated in the state. The department has taken the step based on reports of adverse health effects of this chemical. PGIMER in Chandigarh has...

-The Hindu Business Line Urge growers to stay away from illegal Bt3 seeds Hyderabad: With the kharif season fast approaching, the Telangana government and farmers’ union have launched independent campaigns to discourage people from illegal bio-tech cotton seeds or Roundup Ready Flex seeds. The third generation seed technology developed by Monsanto gives cotton plants protection against glyphosate, which is sprayed to kill the weed. Though the technology doesn’t have permissions in the country,...

-The Hindu Business Line The recent deaths in Maharashtra once again affirm that highly toxic agrochemicals are freely sold across the counter Last month about 40 farmers died and more than 700 were hospitalised in Maharashtra due pesticide poisoning. Initial reports suggest that the deaths are due to monochrotophos. This is a highly toxic chemical that has been banned in more than 60 countries but is still allowed to be sold in...

-GOIMonitor.com Misleading marketing of farm poisons and tardy regulation are costing lives of farmers and farm hands AS MANY as 50 persons died and around 1,000 were hospitalised with 25 losing their vision after exposure to chemical fumes from spraying of pesticides in Yevatmal district of Maharashtra. Most of those affected were farm labourers who neither had any safety apparatus nor were guided on the ideal way to use the pesticides. These cases...