I vote for pesticide safety. This implies that use of low-drift nozzles should be mandatory. Low and ultra-low volume spraying will then be restricted to large, uninhabited tracts, and to pesticides with impeccable safety credentials. This in turn implies a greater role for beneficial insects once crops pass their vegetative phases. Nearly no one has succeeded in making money from the rearing and release of parasites and predators.  We either need new pricing systems, or an NGO set-up for safe plant protection. Perhaps the pesticide industry needs to collaborate better with agencies that are willing to distribute beneficial insects. I must confess to a conflict of interest here, for I do depend on industry largess to keep my P3 (pollinator, predator and parasite) operation going. Nevertheless, I hope we can agree that low and ultra-low volume spraying is unsafe for small land holdings.

I have a wild idea about saving on pesticide water consumption. Allow me to write a separate post on it. Could you now please contribute your ideas on how crops can be safely protected during the reproductive phase in a small-farmer setting?

Dr Satya Banerji

Planet-wise zoning may be the way forward in a post colonial era. Japan is a powerful example of a country that makes no bones about sourcing its food and fibre supplies from distant parts of the globe and never mind the boat-people out to save whales! China has been just as brazen about getting its mineral and energy supplies from Australasia and Africa. Other countries can learn from these examples to construct their own food security systems. Brazil and Russia will be delighted if nations with relatively small and barren lands come forward as long-term paying customers for farm produce.

The neighbour effect of plant protection is not always fully appreciated. That is because pesticides are invented in nations and for markets with large holdings owned by corporations and well-heeled farmers. The third and emerging worlds are awash with tiny patches for farms, tended by the poor and technologically deprived. There is a similar disconnect between meat and vegetarian food production. We neither know nor care whether calves like the taste of feed but soy used for human consumption is another matter altogether. Aflatoxins will not make headlines for killing chickens, but poisoned human beings will.

Pesticide corporations could not see beyond the two sides of the Atlantic in the Soviet era but today's industry needs new templates to sustain business and profits. Just as Brussels has crossed out the wills of so many of its members on pesticide regulation, so might it be with global crop acreages tomorrow. How should the pesticide industry respond? We need not expect overnight changes, but wise executives will start now to prepare for a very different tomorrow.

Let us drop brands and the individual farmer approach in favor of holistic solutions for entire rural communities. The initiative to build natural honeybee populations is a case in point. Indeed this village-wide approach to pesticide safety is one of the most praise-worthy features of this website.

Another revolution that I would like to see is a transformation of the role of the supply chain, from indirectly financing large corporations to accountable integration with their customers. Pesticide safety remains on paper because retailers just do not bother to explain things to farmers the way pharmacists do when we buy medicines.

My third brain-wave for a new pesticide era is for companies to copy my idiosyncratic former boss;'take charge of wheat' he said. Now that my hair is as grey as his was, I secretly admit that he had a point. Let us do away with geography and focus on a crop-based organization. There is meat on this bone when it comes to integrating pesticide with seed marketing. We can be in charge since the guys with their little packets are so squeamish!

I have stuck out my neck: you next.

Dr. Satya Banerji

Contrast the generic farming culture on the continent to that in Germany where precision farming is gaining ground. A German innovator has come up with a “smart tractor” that addresses the needs of an individual crop as opposed to generalized field approach (Der Spiegel; accessed August 31). Farmers control their resources by precisely mapping out the entire farm, collect data on quality of soil, measure nutrient content of plants, scan for weeds and apply pesticides and fertilizers accordingly.  German farmers didn’t simply wake up as precision engineers; it took investing in measurements and investigative culture. 

Since independence, governments on the continent have invested little to scale up generic farming activities to knowledge driven agriculture. Armed with hoe in hand, an estimated 75% of Africans operate in an agricultural system that literally traps them in inefficient crop production practices. The “land grab” wave is here; African governments ought to push for skill exchange for farmers and uphold the sanctity of property rights. 

Everyone in pesticides has people in marketing. Top management never loses an opportunity to exhort everyone within ear shot to sell more. Advertising budgets are not as generous as in consumer goods but we do splurge on meetings and travel. There are foundations for sustainability and at least one scholarly type parked as a Steward. Subscriptions to associations are paid, albeit grudgingly and pesticide safety matters are left to nosy retirees such as I.

The history of the pesticide industry is littered with useful and economical active ingredients that have been cast aside after a tragedy or because of salacious propaganda by so-called activists and greens. New EU pesticide regulations take this drama to ridiculous limits. The pesticide industry is largely to blame for such perfidy, for the safe and judicious use of pesticides has been given lip-service at best. Some generic producers care for pesticide safety not a jot.

Let us bring stewardship front and centre. Let us rise above crass consideration of patents and competition. Abuse of pesticides should bother us all equally, whether it is our molecule at stake or one of an imagined adversary. Mergers and acquisitions have made a mockery of some traditional rivalries of the last century. You could be responsible for a brand that you have scoffed at until last week. Your own bread-winner may be victim of a Brussels-type sweeping broom next month.

We need a dialogue on how stewardship can become the beacon of globalpesticide industry development. The approach I favor is to take bulls by their horns. Let us sift between the plethora of jibes at our vocations and zero in on true issues that endanger lives and the environment. Clearly, no molecule is safe from abuse, and even chlorinated hydrocarbons and the maligned 'dirty dozen' can be used safely and judiciously. Public awareness about pesticides is overwhelmed with misconceptions, distortions, and outright lies. The global trend towards downsizing regulatory budgets is an opportunity for the pesticide industry to seize initiative and leadership in matters of safety and conservation. I draw a parallel from commercial aircraft, where Boeing is so knowledgeable about accidents that we count on them to explain rare crashes. Reputed members of the pharmaceutical industry have also shown exemplary diligence in managing adverse effects of their brands. The pesticide mafia of old has used safety as a weapon to phase-out generics in favor of extravagant patents. We all know that toxicology has multiple dimensions. Attacking a molecule and encouraging rampaging mobs of greens to follow suit, are not the ways of pesticide safety for this millennium.

I believe that ISO 14001  is an enabling way to make all employees stewards. People at the periphery have great insights about how pesticides are abused and of the yawning gaps between what the suits imagine and hard realities. Let us use this forum to jot down all the risks that our pesticides pose and come up with tightly specified avenues for prevention and containment. This is the conventional time for New Year planning, so why not start with your ideas today?

Happy 2011!

I am fortunate that the world had not gone global when a truck full of pesticides fell in to a river under my watch. I will never know which ocean bed houses those packs, or whether they lie for some archaeologist to discover after I am long gone, under a former river.

The point is that Divine fate may one day be in a bad mood. It nearly happened a couple of years ago when a ship sank in the Philippines, with an undeclared consignment of Endosulfan on board. The inanimate active ingredient caught it in the neck, while the negligent crew went scot-free. Fortunately, the drums were durable enough to withstand the onslaught of sea water, but we may not be as lucky the next time around.

Pesticide transport and storage hazards lie below the public radar of awareness. This is ironical for reputed manufacturers go to extraordinary lengths to prevent accidents in their premises. The industry association is also commendably diligent in prescribing norms to prevent tragedies while pesticides transit the supply chain: see http://www.croplife.org/public/transport

Do you know transporters who follow these norms? Which pesticide corporation is willing to guarantee that their operations meet these safety standards without exception? We are all busy with next quarter's financial results, but it is perilous in the extreme to turn any blind eye to the hazards of transporting and storing pesticides. I stress that it is not enough to enforce preventive measures only when goods are in possession of brand owners: it is our collective duty to make sure that transport of small consignments and storage by the distribution chain do not endanger unsuspecting lives or leave any potential for avoidable environmental damage. I do not know about other countries, but all pesticide manufacturers
are legally obliged to license each place where their products are kept for sale. I have seen these certificates being distributed like confetti.

I am trained to contain these risks, and would be privileged to help anyone who has read this post move towards better standards of pesticide safety in transport and storage.

Dr Satya Banerji

Potatoes are just a small part of the cited article. This is a matter to commend because a concerted response to new pesticide regulations is certainly the order of the day. I have written recently about how weed flora changes over time and because of herbicide use. Therefore, I am happy to see that weed mapping is an integral part of UK's new pesticide approach. However, such maps need to be reviewed every few seasons, as they are unlikely to remain the same as new active ingredients make it to market.

I regret that regulators have no time for pesticide safety. This trend has started in Brussels, with useful and economical generic molecules being shown the door in most unreasonable manner. I wish they would do this with armament and weapons! The truth is that all pesticides, including the likes of DDT can be used safely and judiciously, while many of the touted ones are vulnerable to abuse in certain ways. I hope that the notorious and irrational EU pesticide regulation does not find favour in other continents.

This is a good time to think in terms of zonal regulations within the EU. After all, farming in Spain does not have all that much in common with agricultural production in the flower markets of Amsterdam. We can say the same thing about grain production in Turkey compared to champagne production in France.

GT has everything to do with developing new templates of meaningful pesticide regulation. I am all for consumer rights and environmental conservation, but should we not involve farmers in the decision-making process?

Now for a personal and poignant ending: I am forced to reduce my posts to just one a week. I am seriously ill, and must rush to organize my affairs within an uncertain remaining period. It has been an invaluable privilege to write for this esteemed web site, and I look forward to coming back in full force soon.

Dr Satya Banerji

Pesticides change weed flora over time. The euphoria over new herbicies dissipates rapidly as vegetation which is not susceptible proliferates. Exotic varieties and crop rotations also impact weed incidence. You cannot be a grain producer for a long time without a regulated long-term weed management strategy in force. Therefore, the pesticide industry has a big say in the affairs of serious grain exporters.

Then there is nitrogen. Urea has a direct relationship with grain productivity. However, this input is finite, polluting, and wasteful. Therefore, we need to focus on soil ecology and get microbes to fix nitrogen.

I hope that other nations will follow Russia's lead and aim to jostle for positions to feed the hungry on earth. It is not a matter of grain alone, but of other diet ingredients, fibres and bio-fuels as well.

What a time to be in pesticides!

Dr. Satya Banerji

With vast tracts of underutilized land at its disposal; African farmers and policy makers ought to watch these developments keenly. The World needs a surge in wheat and rice production – is Africa ready? Africa can feed itself and the world if it stops listening to thousands of vuvuzela experts (foreign meddling) that has led to mismanagement of the agro-sector. An opportunity exists for Africans to stockpile their foods to act as a buffer to global food security should nature devastate wealthy nations’ reserves. Driving to northern Uganda last week; I was impressed on meeting 45 tonne trucks loaded with cassavas headed to Kampala. African countries must develop and scale up cassava food reserves.

Nature is reminding us that we are still vulnerable to famine notwithstanding our advances in science and technology. African governments must not be left behind; food and agriculture are strategic national security items.  Global food security can be attained by each part of the world scaling up its means of agricultural productivity.

With vast tracts of underutilized land at Africa's disposal; African farmers and policy makers ought to watch these developments keenly. The World needs a surge in wheat and rice production – is Africa ready? Africa can feed itself and the world if it stops listening to thousands of vuvuzela experts (foreign meddling) that have led to mismanagement of the continent's agro-sector. An opportunity exists for Africans to stockpile their foods to act as a buffer to global food security should nature devastate wealthy nations’ reserves. Driving to northern Uganda recently; I was impressed on meeting 45 tonne trucks loaded with cassavas headed to Kampala. African countries must develop and scale up cassava food reserves.

Nature is reminding us that we are still vulnerable to famine notwithstanding our advances in science and technology. African governments must not be left behind; food and agriculture are strategic national security items.  Global food security can be attained by each part of the world scaling up its means of agricultural productivity.

Vertical farming is a feasible option in metros and in temperate climes as well. Terrace farming and vegetable patches are part of the same business cluster. Is it time for pesticide people to sit up and take notice?

I expect many changes in pest dynamics once vertical farming and its clones take flight. Perhaps, polyhouses can yield clues. Herbicides will reduce in importance, while fungicides will probably go the other way. I cannot see moths swarming indoors, but Hemiptera will surely enjoy field nights! There will be a clamour for soil and media treatment solutions, with enhanced focus on pesticide safety.

I have started projects for microbial complexes to address projected protection and agronomy needs of the 'grow your food' trend. Please contribute your thoughts.

Dr Satya Banerji

The value of land, imputed costs of farm-family time and labour, and agronomic uncertainties, make no appearances when urban accountants fix prices for farm produce. I do not believe that capitalism has any potential to remedy the collective plight of small farmers, and hence view this link askance: Euro-MPs call for food price transparency (28 June, EUbusiness).

Food security is a national dimension for all countries to consider when fixing prices for their farmers. Who wants to end up as a Palestine or a North Korea? Structural wealth transfers constitute a global perspective for multi-lateral agencies to enforce. Let us eat food and wear clothes from crops grown by poor earth citizens.

What does all this have to do with pesticide safety? Plenty. In my view we should offer transparent and equitable pricing, promote generic molecules,integrate with non-chemical methods, and revist business templates of the past. The Green Revolution has transformed the economics of all farm inputs and is responsible for grave distress in rural homesteads. It is high time to move on from selfish aims of profits while our invaluable customers suffer.

Dr. Satya Banerji

ISO 14001 is a potential panacea for the evil of illicit pesticide promotion. The process brings the minds of all stakeholders to the direct attention of corporate management. Speak to the suits about their professional committment to pesticide safety: it is pathetic when you see what really happens at Ground Zero.

No top executive, from Bhopal to BP, has ever owned up responsibility for an avoidable tragedy. Regulators are to blame, for they show Nelson's eyes, not just to precedents of acute events, but to chronic hazards as well. That is why the ruling in the cited reference is so laudatory.

Is there a case for a policing role for industry associations?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Farmers from third world countries will find the dispute over Cocoa price turbulence very scary. For years, the main worry has been how to deal with unpredictable weather, pests, poor farm inputs and markets. Speculators are a new addition to threats facing the farming community. When developed nations drummed up the wave for biofuel; increased food prices sparked riots across the world. Farmers (like any other business) also respond to market demand and focus on where the money is.

As investors push farmers into the infamous Roman gladiatorial corner on issues of competition between food and biofuel; the likely outcome will be an aggressive search for underutilized land. This calls for more transparency in commodities trade and matters of land leases. Financing institutions ought to seize this momentum to support farmers in developing countries to increase their productivity.

Littoral parts of the European Union seem to pay a heavy price for the privileges of membership. I say the  same thing for African countries vying to export their farm products. Brussels bullying is not confined just to its own superstructure. There are scores of activist organizations and groups that stride over international bodies, abusing nominated positions for hidden agendas. Attacks on generic pesticides in order to pave the way for patents, are cases in point.

The emerging world must take assertive steps to nip salacious neo-colonialism in the bud. Traceability and sanitation are twin highways to free trade in our domain. All organizations that serve poor farmers must help their customers meet international safety standards for biological material. I stress that this should not be for exports alone, but for all farm production. After all, our own citizens deserve no less than alien ones in other countries.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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It is silly to plan for chemical fertilizer growth without first ensuring that soil ecology is managed for sustained farm productivity. We need time-bound targets to bring more land under microbes that can fix nitrogen, phosphorus, silica, and zinc in forms that roots can absorb.

Secondly, we have to reduce leaching in measurable ways. This approach will not only safeguard precious potable water reserves, but make available factory production capacities go further.

Then there is this spiel about pricing. Which producer accounts for environmental conservation costs? One of the principal reasons for wasteful fertilizer consumption is that the stuff has all kinds of costs that stay well and truly hidden!

Another gripe: should fertilizer for avocado pears, rare wines, and designer tomatoes, cost the same as for millet? Must a starving peasant pay as much as a wealthy rancher? What about corporate farms?

Hey, I can go on and on, but what about you? Can we do our humble bits to provide for remediation of the effects of our toxic wares? After all, we cannot dodge paying our shares for ever.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Pesticide safety has undeniable links with rural women. Therefore, it is futile to idly praise the FAO, unless we commit to act in our domain. Please add to this list:

1. Ask farmers not to make women in their households handle pesticides.
2. Keep families safe from pesticide drift, with women in charge of monitoring the hazard.
3. Train and equip village women to provide first-aid in medical emergencies and in preventive health-care as well.
4. Involve women in spray decisions by using their expertise in forecasting, scouting, and non-chemical pest management.
5. Forge food safety links between rural and urban home-makers.

Let us all work together, with women in the vanguard, to build a planet with abundant farm produce.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Processions are mostly amusing in India, but nesting by caterpillars is surely a matter for worry. Spodoptera hit large tracts of Africa last year. Some parts of South East Asia have been hit by brown plant hoppers this year. I wrote recently about rust. The list of epidemics in agriculture seems to be both persistent and endless. It is remarkable how we fret over human viral attacks, but simply turn the page on the rare report of a pest outbreak.

Pheromones, light traps, and scouting have not received their dues in terms of management of sporadic pests. It is easy to acquire the relevant skills, but committed and competent teachers are rare. Record-keeping is another useful approach because temperature and humidity correlations with broods can be built with time-series data. The pesticide industry has stakes in all this since precision timing impacts efficacy positively.

Pest forecasting is a vast subject with plenty of local variations. I look forward to exchanging notes and experiences on this important dimension of managing epidemics of voracious pests.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Rust plays with the pesticide industry. You never have enough pesticide when needed, yet the wretched microbe appears just once in a nearly blue moon. The manufacturing guys tear you to bits when you can no longer sell their rushed production.

Pseudomonas does not get its due in managing rust. It is a generic, so the big guys do not want to promote it. Small entrepreneurs have neither the quality norms, nor the money to make an impact on grower minds. However, I plan to stock up on this useful microbe for this year. Pseudomonas is versatile and helps to protect a range of crops from diseases.

Surround rust with plant protection, and keep an eagle eye for early spores. Rust spreads like fire, and germinates rapidly in moist and cool weather. It can travel over incredible distances  in the right (for it) wind conditions.The spores can wait for eons until favorable conditions prevail.

I told you so!

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The threat to cassava production in East Africa is not confined to viruses, pests and underground moles. The attitude of East Africans towards indigenous foods successfully pushed this drought resistant crop that requires less attention while on the farm off many people’s menu. Since there were no radio, television and print commercials on cassava as food; many people started associating it as a crop for the poor and illiterate. While growing up, I remember times in our family, when we had to purchase bread (from wheat) to serve guests even when we had a cooking pot (sufuria) full of boiled cassavas.

800 million people consume cassavas globally; this would have been mind blowing news to my mother who had been made to believe it’s not a crop for the educated anymore. As scientists fight predator mealybug in Thailand, and research on solution to Cassava Brown Streak Disease in Africa; it is important that the attitude that was planted in small holder farmers’ minds about cassava in East Africa be addressed.

The threat to cassava production in East Africa is not confined to viruses, pests and underground moles. The attitude of East Africans towards indigenous foods successfully pushed this drought resistant crop that requires less attention while on the farm off many people’s menu. Since there were no radio, television and print commercials on cassava as food; many people started associating it as a crop for the poor and illiterate. While growing up, I remember times in our family, when we had to purchase bread (from wheat) to serve guests even when we had a cooking pot (sufuria) full of boiled cassavas.

800 million people consume cassavas globally; this would have been mind blowing news to my mother who had been made to believe it’s not a crop for the educated anymore. As scientists fight predator mealybug in Thailand, and research on solution to Cassava Brown Streak Disease in Africa; it is important that the attitude that was planted in small holder farmers’ minds about cassava in East Africa be addressed.

High-volume spraying and waste disposal are most demanding of water resources. Low and ultra volume pesticide formulations are capital intensive and guzzle fossil fuels as well.

Safety considerations have rightly done away with many solid formulations and fumigants, but I wonder if there is scope for innovation to bring back these precious water savers. Another idea could be to segregate water for pesticide application from potable supplies. Sadly this is not the case in some key pesticide markets.

I am glad that many rural employment guarantee schemes focus on water harvesting. Perhaps we should line these reservoirs with concrete and reduce evaporation losses as well. Using brackish water to remediate pesticide polluted water is a way to conserve the safe stuff, while improving safety standards at the same time.

Please throw your ideas for water conservation in to the pesticide safety pot

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I am engaged in a Sustainable Agricultural Productivity Service (SAPS).
Here are some common denominators between the agri-input industry and the
naturalists that I try to implement:

• inolvement with farmers from the planning stage to suggest measures such as inter-cropping and pest-tolerant varieties;
• focus on soil ecology to liberate available nutrient reserves, and to
  eliminate over-wintering pests;
• development of fortification infrastructure such as entomophagous parks,
  trap crops, and tree barriers;
• daily scouting to predict agronomical changes in time;
• inolvement of women and youth in decision-making;
• group decision-making where small plots are individually owned;
• safe and judicious storage, use, and waste disposal of hazardous inputs;
• review of environmental status, with a focus on health and
  remediation/restoration;
• development of water resources.

 This is just a beginning. I would value every input to improve SAPS.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Virus diseases are the bane of all kinds of agriculture. They do not deserve the attention transmitted diseases of humans get but the pesticide industry stands accused of inadequate attention to anti retro-viral technologies. Is this a fall out of the separation of agro from pharma? After all, triazoles got tested across the board in the days of diversified Life Science corporations.

It is not in my small turf to ask such awkward questions. Perhaps we should focus on what hapless horticulturists of Cornwall can do (not that this phenomenon is spatially limited).

I recommend the universal inoculation of all soils in the area with Metarhizum. This is a generic solution, but local pathologists may have especially virulent strains. It is safe to use in any event, and the best course of action in a world without fumigants.

The other issue is to trace the source of the virus. All of us, in this age of globalization need to be careful about exchanging vegetative cuttings. I recall my outrage when New Zealand immigration quarantined my country's champion spin bowler because his cricket shoes had grass from India. However, incidents such as the virus in Cornwall show that it is better to be safe than infected.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Much is made of India's exceptional economic growth in recent times. There is nearly no debate about the loss of arable land. Scattered efforts to harvest water resources are no substitute for assured canal irrigation. It is a telling commentary on our State of affairs that India produces half of its grain reserves from a small patch of land in Northern India, fed by dams built ages ago. Similarly, the world's largest vegetarian nation continues to import beans and cooking media to meet essential needs.

Pesticide professionals can contribute to this complex matter by cutting back on post-harvest losses. Very little of this is done at the micro level by individual growers. We can view this as a grand opportunity, with many social benefits appended to the enticing profits. Apart from saving produce from storage pests, we can empower farmers by making it possible to hold their surpluses until market conditions are opportune.

I do not know the subject well, having focused most of my career on field pests. Can we start a new initiative on pests and diseases of stored agricultural produce?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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One of my less pleasant childhood memories is of being forced to eat bad-quality cereals gifted by the United States to a hungry India of the 1960s. It was humiliating to see my mother sift through paltry rations to remove small stones from discolored grains. I also treasure my achievements in helping farmers raise hybrid cotton, rice, and wheat.

Yes we do need to take farm productivity to a new level but the revolution has to be different this time from that of earlier centuries. The pesticide industry has a stellar role in securing safe food for the growing population on our planet. The first Green Revolution has its deepest gorge in increased pesticide use. Paving routes to safe and judicious pesticide use will meet the pressing objectives of all stakeholders.

Let us start with storage and transport. Manufacturers take great pains to produce and to keep their brands safe as long as the goods belong to them. The truth is that liability is not diluted in the least once stocks pass in to the hands of the supply chain and transporters. Take a look at the attached image. I agree that it is a bit extreme for a retailer to light a candle in a pesticide shop, but my picture is not contrived.

The same principle of accountability applies once a pesticide container passes in to the hands of a farmer. Safe and judicious use and waste disposal must be managed by pesticide professionals. I got away, in my time, by proclaiming that my employer was responsible only for meeting quality specifications, but this ostrich attitude will not do as a second Green Revolution takes shape.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The one–dollar-per-acre deal reminds me of a question that was put to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia during the recent World Economic Forum held in Dar es Salaam. An Ethiopian participant sought to know why his government was leasing out thousands of acres to foreigners. The Premier, in a very calm voice replied that his government was simply leasing out idle land!

Idle land in Africa? Not a far fetched reply if you consider reports to the effect that Sub Sahara Africa has an estimated 395 million hectares of unused farmland  (20 June, Next). Why are over 265 million Africans suffering malnutrition and 30% of the continent's population faced with starvation? Who is responsible? Is it the so called international community, African governments or the African person?

Africa's potential is growing as countries engage in strategic partnerships with foreign investors. As more positive news about the continent filter through to investors and businesses, individuals on the continent will get an opportunity to unlock their talents. The talk about idle land on the continent must get all people involved in the agricultural sector to rethink their strategies. A one-dollar-per-acre deal for 100 years lease could be a pointer to a government in desperate need of high productivity among its farming community.

James Shikwati

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Is it time to redefine the pesticide safety mission? The oligopoly of the research-based pesticide business has riveted a patent-centered development model to the portals of modern agriculture. But assertive public opinion has begun to gnaw at the foundations of pesticide industry development.

We ignore beneficial insects at our peril. Retiring biologists may express resignation to the status quo of crop protection, but there is enough impetus to rocket new blends of agronomic practices to the vanguard of the sustainable farm productivity movement.

I vote for a sweeping change in the pesticide industry model. Use of beneficial insects should be integrated with the use of chemicals to offer solutions that meet production and safety compulsions at the same time. We can discern from the referenced observations of a learned expert that human and environmental costing of toxic pesticide use is a possible launching pad for Millennium Crop Protection.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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IPM is just a part of ICM Integrated Crop Management. Look, with this caveat, at this: Gap between best and worst arable farmers grows (27 May, Farmers' Weekly Interactive). The United Kingdom is not alone in vast chasms between top, average, and bottom crop productivity levels. There is no better route to meeting our global food, fibre and bio-energy needs, than to fix this. You do not need additional arable lands, and may even do well with less farm inputs.

You do not have to be an accomplished agronomist to conclude that incremental amounts of fertilizer will yield bigger harvests. However, why not mulch or use nitrogen-fixing bacteria? We tend to find business-oriented solutions to problems farmers face. Why not make money by putting ourselves in their shoes?

I am a born-again missionary of Grounded Theory. We should go to the UK farmers with low wheat yields, and construct theories based on their major areas of concern. Perhaps the way to an IPM leap is by parking our selfish aims.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The oriental dependence on rice is staggering. It exceeds by far the arable land demand for meat production. Most paddy varieties need relatively high irrigation inputs. This is effectively a hurdle, given the global fresh-water shortages. China leads the world in planting hybrid rice. Indigenous varieties are subject to over 100 species of pests. It is probable that pest incidence will increase as hybridization spreads.

The situation is just right for the pesticide industry. Field and post-harvest losses of grain to pests constitute the best route to enhancing production. Not all arable land can support paddy cultivation. Hence, the directives of the Communist Party could be hard for farmers to implement. However, everyone can participate in a program to cut losses to pests.

Pesticide safety is a challenge in paddy fields. You have to get in bare-foot, so we need formulations and applicators that work from outside the actual cultivated area. Keeping aquatic life forms alive in the area need special quarantine procedures for patches in which paddy is treated with pesticides. Most farmers store their own grain, so there is much to be done with respect to rodents and small pests.

Now to work!

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Let us insist on an entire village as a unit for IPM. We could lose custom at first, but insistence on a minimum scale for IPM applications will yield meaningful results in the long-run. Just a few successful projects will turn in to a tide of change from the next season onwards.

What if a village agrees to implement IPM? My own past response has been to talk of field hygiene, scouting, and need-based pesticide application. The change I would like to make is to shift some focus to zonal planning. Entomophagous parks, tree barriers between arable area and dwellings, common waste-management infrastructure, and sustained development of pollinator, predator, and parasite colonies.

You must have different and better IPM prescriptions,  but can we agree that IPM with neighbouring farmers taking contradictory decisions is a recipe for failure?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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There are two major reasons for new and safer pesticides to cost so much more than generics with relatively greater and more likely hazards: patents and penultimate synthesis. Proprietary rights allow corporations to price their innovations without any restraint or accountability. Financial regulators do not insist on transparent and segmented cost and profit information. Some corporations are not even listed on local stock markets or operate through their supply chains. The focus on research makes patent holders dependent on intermediate suppliers, which again throws impenetrable blankets on value addition along the supply chain.

It may be too much to expect that we can topple the imperial nexus which rolls out new and more expensive active ingredients with relentless regularity. A realistic alternative is to implement pesticide safety systems that would enable the re-introduction of banned generics. DDT for example, can be used on fibre and bio-fuel crops, with adequate safeguards to prevent off-target residues. People and the environment would not be harmed, while impoverished farmers would enjoy dramatic savings in their costs of production.

Let all of us win.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The Eastern Kenya region now faced with a poisonous bumper harvest, is close to my heart. I conducted a research project in this region and coauthored a book “Agricultural Investment in Eastern Kenya” in 2005. Too much focus on inputs at the expense of management of outputs partly explains why Kenya will destroy 2.3 million bags of poisonous maize. Management of farm outputs should go beyond storage and focus on the end user as part of drive towards adding value.

To inculcate a culture of value addition in Sub Saharan Africa, one can work backwards from the point of sale to the producer by investing in packaging of products. The consumer makes choices on the basis of packaging and presentation of product.

It may not be enough to fight weeds and have your yield destroyed. A collaborative effort by players in the value chain will facilitate a sustained market. The consumer puts health and safety first. Over to you my dear farmer, as you invest in storage, remember that packaging with the end user in mind is important.

James Shikwati

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Devastating pest attacks have antecedents, patterns, and warning signs. We lack systems to capture relevant data. Brown plant hoppers are topical examples. They have ravaged Far East paddy fields for weeks this year. We know that winged adults cross seas to the southern fringes of India. There is good reason to expect an outbreak this monsoon. I am not aware that we are prepared.

India has discovered water on the moon. We can spot cyclones in time. The country has just launched an indigenous attack helicopter. We boast of nuclear-capable missiles to deter attacks by neighbours. How about protecting our crops and farmers?

There are many technologies that can aid in pest forecasting. There are others to deliver pesticides over large areas quickly and without endangering life or the environment. IPM experts have to take the lead in technology integration and relevant application. We cannot expect engineers to appreciate the pivotal role of prevention in pest management.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The Panchayat system is just as democratic as Parliament. Many villages are led by women. There is an entrenched battle between Indian votaries of the western template of nationhood and conservative practioners of the ancient way of Indian living.

What does this have to do with pesticide safety?

The answer lies in changing the role of Panchayats from moral policing to joint and accountable decision-making on farming matters. After all, agriculture remains the backbone of rural development.

Small land-holdings challenge fundamental concepts of pesticide safety. Peasants without knowledge or material resources buy and abuse pesticides at will. They poison children, women, and urban consumers in ignorance.

Every Panchayat should focus on sustained farm productivity. Spray decisions should cover the entire village. Pollinators, predators, and parasites must be conserved. City folk deserve assurance that produce is safe to consume.

Social progress may not be dramatic, sudden, or quick. However, every effort at participative rather than regulated pesticide safety will yield significant and sustained development benefits.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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IPM calls for new thinking. We have to accept a certain level of pest attack. Pesticides are used when the intensity of bugs crosses a limit. The latter is crop and area specific. It is determined by the value of harvest as against the costs of pesticide use. Certainly, such an approach leads to more rational plant protection, but it is flawed nevertheless.

The nominal value of a pesticide is not the only element of cost. There is water to be fetched, an imputed cost of time even if a farmer sprays his own field, the costs of waste management and remediation, and the even higher life and environment costs in cases where left-over materials are dumped carelessly.

Studies such as the one linked below need to consider real and comprehensive costs of pesticide use: Cost-benefit analysis and investment appraisal in relation to pest control measures (April, 2006, Wiley InterScience).

Dr. Satya Banerji

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We cannot deny that untold numbers of beneficial insects have been decimated in areas where farmers misuse pesticides. Village elders will confirm that amphibian, reptilian, and avian numbers have fallen perceptibly since the days when pesticides were first introduced. Indeed, countries such as India,where pesticides are relatively unknown over large tracts, stand in stark contrast in terms of bio-diversity, compared to pockets where chemical-intensive farming is practiced.

Pesticide abuse is not inevitable. Though the numbers of farmers to be served are staggering, the technology of pesticide safety is simple,effective, and easy to disseminate as well. Pesticide safety is conventionally perceived as an issue of human health - which indeed it is.However, conservation of bio-diversity is a valuable addition that we can introduce in 2010. I suggest the following new steps:

1. Inclusion of specific steps to protect pollinators, predators, and parasites in all agronomic recommendations for crops and orchards.
2. Evaluation of all registered pesticides, and of new candidates, for their effects on beneficial insects.
3. Creation of reserves around and in the midst of cropped areas, where pollinators, predators, and parasites, are allowed to flourish.
4. Breeding programs for genotypes of predators and parasites that tolerate widely used pesticides.
5. A ban on systemic insecticides during flowering.

I invite views and suggestions from pesticide professionals all over the globe so that we can present a united and effective front against pesticide misinformation lobbies.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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"No wonder Ekalux costs so much. Just look at his girth".

I was in Amravati. The pesticide retailer exhorted two of the typically neglected peasantry of this Central India backwater to ask me anything they wanted to know about pests. After all, I represented the corporation that made their most trusted pesticide.

The Sandoz side of Syngenta has always been humble, humane, disciplined, and diligent. Years of rigorous training came to the fore as I swallowed the deserved barb and engaged my clientele in discourse. How could I serve them better?

This true incident occured some three decades ago. The field notes are buried deep inside my skull, but concepts of Integrated Crop Management and Integrated Area Management persist at the top of the stack.

Extension workers should orient their prescriptions towards agronomy rather than crop protection. Secondly, bountiful harvests will not secure farm families unless their areas have adequate post-harvest infrastructure.

IPM is like a nurse in a hospital. The service is essential, but not enough to make you well.

Farmers want Integrated Crop Management and Integrated Area Management.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Conservation tillage has been promoted by a prominent pesticide-industry member with an axe to grind. That is why I view the referenced video with suspicion. The global concern for carbon emissions is not accompanied by sound understanding of either plant physiology or agronomy. Plants can and do use all the carbon dioxide around. This is their most important contribution to the planet, compared to the Animal Kingdom.

I regret that the learned author of the video, with such a responsible position in world agriculture, dismisses the soil-ecology benefits of tillage so callously. (See Comparing Zero and Conventional Tillage for another view).  The villains of farming, from a global warming perspective, are the fertilizers and pesticides made with train-loads of fossil fuels, often carted over thousands of kilometers from production to consumption sites.

I call upon industry to divert some of their bulging public-relations budgets to development of sustainable ingredients, formulations, and delivery systems. Moreover, the sectors of industry and services need exclusive attention to manage emissions. We can raise food, fibre and fuel without harming the ozone layer.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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That scene reminds me about Africa’s portrayal in the Western world. For almost two centuries, Africa is depicted as poor and high risk continent. With over one billion people, surely someone must be making money here! One may dismiss my assertion with statistics depicting that majority of people on the continent live on less than a dollar a day. Ever since China (China overtakes US as Africa's top trading partner) made it known that they view Africa as a market, the dynamics have changed. The Western world is forced to rethink their view on the continent as a periphery market to be simply lectured.

If your business is in the value chain of crop production, do not be misled by engineered negative perceptions about Africa. The Chinese have seen through the veil of misperceptions and are set to reap huge benefits. The same applies to African farmers; for long you have been fed on the menu of inabilities. It is time to change your attitude towards the power of ability that resides in you.

James Shikwati

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That scene reminds me about Africa’s portrayal in the Western world. For almost two centuries, Africa is depicted as poor and high risk continent. With over one billion people, surely someone must be making money here! One may dismiss my assertion with statistics depicting that majority of people on the continent live on less than a dollar a day. Ever since China (China overtakes US as Africa's top trading partner )made it known that they view Africa as a market, the dynamics have changed. The Western world is forced to rethink their view on the continent as a periphery market to be simply lectured.

If your business is in the value chain of crop production, do not be misled by engineered negative perceptions about Africa. The Chinese have seen through the veil of misperceptions and are set to reap huge benefits. The same applies to African farmers; for long you have been fed on the menu of inabilities. It is time to change your attitude towards the power of ability that resides in you. 

That scene reminds me about Africa’s portrayal in the Western world. For almost two centuries, Africa is depicted as poor and high risk continent. With over one billion people, surely someone must be making money here! One may dismiss my assertion with statistics depicting that majority of people on the continent live on less than a dollar a day. Ever since China (China overtakes US as Africa's top trading partner )made it known that they view Africa as a market, the dynamics have changed. The Western world is forced to rethink their view on the continent as a periphery market to be simply lectured.

If your business is in the value chain of crop production, do not be misled by engineered negative perceptions about Africa. The Chinese have seen through the veil of misperceptions and are set to reap huge benefits. The same applies to African farmers; for long you have been fed on the menu of inabilities. It is time to change your attitude towards the power of ability that resides in you. 

I bought my first cell phone in 2001.  I have never changed my cell number ever since. My cell phone has become very much part of me. Cell phones have cut distances between people. Owned by an individual, the cell phone has driven the power of “I” a notch higher.

The power of title to property has contributed to high cell phone uptake. Land productivity in Africa may assume new dimensions if issues of property rights are resolved. Kenya’s drive towards a new constitutional order that has paid attention to issues of land may just deliver that – high productivity. For the first time since independence, Kenyans are going to participate in determining a constitutional order they want. If affirmed, the proposed constitution will enable Kenyans own their country; resolve land disputes and enable women reclaim their part in land ownership. The surge in cell phone uptake offers the lesson to agribusiness that they ought not to ignore the power of property ownership and “I” (individual interests).

The one – dollar- per - acre deal reminds me of a question that was put to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia during the recent World Economic Forum held in Dar es Salaam. An Ethiopian participant sought to know why his government was leasing out thousands of acres to foreigners. The Premier, in a very calm voice replied that his government was simply leasing out idle land!

Idle land in Africa? Not a far fetched reply if you consider reports to the effect that Sub Sahara Africa has an estimated 395 million hectares of unused farmland. Why are over 265 million Africans suffering malnutrition and 30% of the continent's population faced with starvation? Who is responsible? Is it the so called international community, African governments or the African person?

Africa's potential is growing as countries engage in strategic partnerships with foreign investors. As more positive news about the continent filter through to investors and businesses, individuals on the continent will get an opportunity to unlock their talents. The talk about idle land on the continent must get all people involved in the agricultural sector to rethink their strategies. A one dollar per acre deal for 100 years lease could be a pointer to a government in desperate need of high productivity among its farming community.

This is as good a time as any to plan for meaningful change. Soil and seeds are prime targets to my mind. Indian farmers should view soil as their most valuable heirloom, shift away from the focus on nitrogen, and take steps to improve the sub-terranean ecology. They will not just realize first-season gains, but improve the net worth of their farms for their descendants.

Now for seed. Treatment with a systemic neonicotinoid has become a norm. Unfortunately, most farmers use this chemical group of pesticides for their first foliar sprays. This brings the misery of resistance. It is simple to use a different chemical group and mode of action.

It is time for the pesticide industry to make its presence felt.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Ravi Kashikar lives many miles away from Ram Babu, yet his litany against urban-centered development is remarkably similar. Ravi is also a veteran and celebrated member of the pesticide supply chain, and a member of the Shetkari Sanghatana (Union of Farmers) to boot. My debates with him are more difficult, because as a distributor of Bayer we have ingrained hostility. However, that does not diminish the value of his wisdom and insight. One day he flummoxed me with this question, which I urge you to try and answer:

"Have you ever met a farmer who has bought ice-cream for his or her family?"

Scientists and government extension workers shoulder the IPM burden on their frail shoulders. The lip service of pesticide companies is as perfunctory as that of a rebellious niece. Dealers, who form the phalanx of technical information for farmers dutifully toe lines drawn by pesticide manufacturers.

Organization with eyes only for their own bottom lines need bait to add weight to the IPM movement. Contract farming has risks of peasants losing ownership of their lands, but it should be easy to contain this through legislation and regulation. Small farmers should offer a kind of wet lease,in which they provide family and hired labour to long-term contractors. Seed producers develop strong IPM committments because their profits depend on containing plant protection costs.

Do you know of other ways in which the pesticide industry can be snared into some IPM passion?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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"What you say matters most for nurseries and soil".

Mr. Bipin Singhal has not been to an agricultural college, but his insight rings true. The conventional IPM focus on the aerial parts of standing plants is not comprehensive. Land preparation, soil health, and intensive care of tender saplings lay foundations for healthy, resilient, productive,and sustainable crops.

I have resolved to dedicate 2010 (our major crop season is only about to start) to new IPM. Let us resolve to make sound beginnings for crop cycles,to take IPM forward.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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There are limits to what regulators can do for sampling is always random and never comprehensive. Liabilities cannot be fixed at Ground Zero because there are time lags between the causes and effects of pesticide abuse. The organic solution is amateurish, for pathogens, heavy metals, and natural steroids are at least as hazardous as chemical pesticides.

Population and poverty are powerful propellers that drive food safety into the distant background of public attention. India has witnessed distressing food inflation in the recent past. Things will get worse as summer descends, to say nothing of the unspeakable horror of a recalcitrant monsoon.

Traders lurk below the radar of concern. They enjoy volume growth in good seasons, and rapacious profits when retail shelves run empty. Capital power is used brazenly to hold inventories so large that they wield iron-fisted control on prices at all links in the supply chain.

Fortunately, the situation is not beyond repair. The United States leads the world in more ways than one. This one is laudatory for all shades of opinion. The Consumer Supported Agriculture system of the super power's Food and Agriculture Administration helps city folk make direct links with growing communities. Places such as Long Island are just right for city slickers to spend quality time on farms over weekends. More importantly, families are assured about food safety and transparent pricing as well.

These thoughts come to mind as I work in fruit orchards. Watching honeybees pollinate a mango inflorescence as this YouTube clip shows (sorry, I left my tripod at home) tells me that no systemic insecticides lurk in the orchard and that I can safely bring my beloved wife to gorge on the fruit next month.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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According to a World Economic Forum publication of January 2009 entitled “The Next Billions: Business Strategies to Enhance Food Value Chains and Empower the Poor;” 3.7 billion people around the world are largely excluded from formal food markets. The total earning of this group is US$ 2.3 trillion and it’s growing rapidly at 8% annually. Anyone out there want to be a billionaire? 

To access the market of billions who live on less than US$8 a day, one has to invest in repackaging products and ride on existing rural supply networks. Rural poverty is not necessarily because people live on fewer dollars a day; it is about being disconnected from formal markets. The best approach then ought to be to connect the existing rural informal food markets to formal ones. The lesson from a “million cabbages” is that one must invest a significant amount of effort, money, farm inputs, skills, and time among other items in order to reap millions from this market segment. Rural trillions are beckoning those who see wealth and not poverty in rural areas.

It is no longer adequate in my opinion. Residue management is the lacuna that we have to fill. Food safety is given short shrift these days, because there is simply not enough to go around. Regulation is a cruel joke, for what use does it do for a child or an expectant mother whose food escapes random sampling? I recall with shame how my former colleagues and I would laughingly avoid eating brinjals (egg plants) because we knew that the shiny ones had been dipped in emulsion concentrates.

Only pesticide professionals can save the world. No other section of society understands the dangers of pesticide residues, and how to address the problem. Activists make lists of foods that are 'safe' to eat based on individual survey reports. Take a look at The "Clean 15" Fruits and Vegetables (13 August 2009 abcnews.go.com). It would be laughable to label mangoes, onions, and cabbage as being necessarily safe to eat, were the distortions not so against the vital interests of innocent women and children. I can only hope that not too many people read and follow such tripe.

IPM promotes field hygiene and need-based pesticide sprays. It needs your immediate attention so that IPM guarantees freedom from obnoxious and insidious toxic residues.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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"The Court used to sit here in colonial times".

The orchard is not more than a stone's throw from the town of Behat, so I wondered why the long-departed Lordships decided to hear cases in this agrarian setting. I was told that the reason was that most litigation
involved agronomy matters, such as existed in those days.

It has led me to wonder if some sort of decentralized governance should not prevail in the small-plot farming of today. Farmers do not coordinate their sprays, take few precautions to protect their communities from exposure, and  send produce with high levels of residues to hapless consumers.

I believe that farmers will respond with enthusiasm to collective agronomy decisions. They are forced to consult dealers even though wise counsel is rarely available from this biased source. It will not be an easy transition. We certainly cannot slide in to the wanton days of collective farming of the Soviet era. Private ownership of land, no matter how humble, is a prime human yearning. The issue is environmental conservation so that we do not tread on the inheritances of others and our own progeny as well.

It bears mention of the obvious that pesticides because of their very nature, should be at the center of a return to the halcyon days of local regulation of farm matters.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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We welcome inputs and dialogue with all those involved in ensuring that Crop protection measures are safe, effective and sustainable.

Some pesticide manufacturers provide Technical Notes that summarise key Mandatory Conditions of Use and may also offer Advisory Notes on how to best spray the product. This further information may be in an easier to understand format and supports labels advice but must not be used as a substitute for any recommendations or other Conditions of Use stated on the label. Users who are unclear as to the meaning of labels are advised to seek training on how to read pesticide product labels from pesticide manufacturers or local agriculture departments or to get help from your product supplier or your local extension officer.

Portable sprayers include those working:

• by simple air compression; 
• with diaphragm and piston pumps; or those that
• the operator carries having a small motor that may pump the spray liquid and/or produce an air jet that propels the sprayer into the target area.

Larger sprayers may be pulled by tractors, mounted on the tractor hitches or be a dedicated spraying unit.

Specialised sprayers may be adapted for horticultural crops with modified booms such as those that use air assistance. Whilst many orchard sprayers , have a central fan [blower] that is surrounded with nozzles to produce a cloud of directed spray-drop-laden air.

Aircraft and boats have also been adapted for spraying too.

• residue levels,
• operator and bystander safety,
• protecting the soil and nearby waterways 
• protecting wild life and habitats.

Thus many pesticides have tight limits on how they should be applied to ensure both the products efficacy and its safe use. These limits constrain where the pesticide is to be targeted:

A soil applied pesticide may be applied in large drops and low water volumes for these drops are safely retained by that target surface and – after impact – may have an area of contact that is sufficient enough to overcome an inherently poor distribution pattern. The pesticide itself may move for limited distances after soil contact and/or some products may be moved and redistributed by soil cultivations such as by incorporation. In addition, the developing roots, for example, of a target weed may grow to contact treated soil over a larger area. These pesticide types are insensitive to how they are applied and - providing the rate is not changed - whether low or high volumes are used or large or small drops, their effectiveness is likely to remain unchanged. Labels may then advise the use of larger drops as they are safer [less drift/ less operator inhalation] than smaller drops. In addition, they may also permit the use of lower water volumes as these are less time and energy demanding to apply and ease the need for better field timing.

Foliar applied pesticides need be applied in a more defined manner. Spray drops may have to be numerous enough to ensure each individual exposed target site is contacted and the distribution pattern over that surface is adequate. Plant surfaces may be concealed under - or within - other leaf canopies to hinder spray drop numbers making contact too. Sometimes, small [fine] sprays are needed whilst, with other pesticides may require larger drops. 

The size of drop needed is greatly influenced by the products ‘mode of action’. Some pesticides are systemic i.e the pesticide moves within the plant, whilst others are contact  pesticides, where there is limited movement of the pesticide within the plant or on the plant’s surface. Systemic pesticides may still be effective when applied as larger, fewer drops [medium sizes]. In contrast, contact acting pesticides may require smaller more numerous drops to ensure all target surfaces are treated.

Factors beyond the needs for the pesticide to be effective are also important and may limit/modify how we spray safely. These decisions may often have been made for us and are included in the label recommendations. Thus:

• Labels may advise the use of low drift risk sprays by indicating the use of the larger drop sizes and higher water volumes within the range stated.
• Finer sprays may need to be avoided in order to limit operator inhalation.
• Low water volumes may not be permitted, not because they are biologically ineffective, but because the increased spray solution concentration is an operator exposure risk.

Label advice must be followed for it may have to compromise application requirements to ensure both the pesticides efficacy and any safety related needs. 

Penetration of these canopies to ensure some spray reaches these concealed surfaces, may require higher water volumes and/or smaller drops. Sometimes, the use of a specific nozzle type such as a Hollow Cone may be advised as these nozzles produce clouds of fine sprays with some [induced] turbulent air. Induced air [air sucked into the spray cloud as it is formed at the nozzle] may not be enough and – with some horticultural crop sprayers – a fan is used to help force the spray into the inner reaches of the crop canopy.

How do I get the pesticide to get under the leaf?

Some insects feed on the under surfaces of leaves. If applying a contact insecticide (ie, one that remains where it falls once sprayed) then it will be necessary to get more deposit onto the under surfaces of the leaf. Similarly, some fungicides may be more effective when applied to diseased sites on these lower surfaces. To help reach these sites, some sprayers have vertical ‘drop legs’ [short rods] that pass within a crop such as vegetables or young cotton plants with nozzles adjusted to spray upwards. Bigger sprayers often use air assistance to force the spray into the crops canopy with sufficient power to twist the leaves and stems to an exposed position. Electrostatically charged sprays are also used but their commercial uptake is limited.

Too much spray may also cause damage to the crop and retard the crop’s growth, especially if the pesticide used is a selective herbicide.  Competition [that is the fight for light, water and nutrients] between the crop plants and the weeds is often essential for successful weed control. Usually weeds are only retarded and/or killed when treated with the appropriate rate and in the presence of a vigorously growing healthy crop. Excessive spraying can therefore mean that the weeds you intended to control could flourish without the competition of the now stressed crops.

Common causes of spraying too much are 

• spraying with a speed that is slower than the speed at which you calibrated;
• using a nozzle that has worn a bigger hole since the last calibration; 
• spraying the same area more than once

In these cases you are likely to apply too much spray to the crop. You will apply a higher rate than intended and it could exceed the maximum rate permitted.

It is a condition of a pesticide’s use that the advised personal protective equipment (PPE) must be worn. Read the label carefully for what you may need to wear will vary between pesticides and what you are doing with it. Do remember that the label requirements are for the minimum demands. Even if no protective clothing is advised then do follow good hygiene rules and wear plastic boots, trousers, long sleeved shirt and hat….and wash yourself and these clothes thoroughly after use. Clothes used for spraying must be washed separately to the household washing.

Typically, the label will state which protective clothing to wear. What you must wear will depend on the product and what you are doing. Thus, when loading a sprayer with an undiluted toxic pesticide, personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements will be much more demanding then if spraying a low hazard and diluted spray solution. Skin risks and skin uptake from pesticide use is typically worse from the undiluted product – especially when oil based solvents are used. Formulations other than liquids such as Water Dispersible Granules [WDG] are inherently safer to use because – unlike liquid formulations – these dry products are easily reflected off the skin.

Labels may also refer to ‘Engineering controls’ which is equipment that may be used to lessen any operator exposure hazard. Preference is always given to those control systems that contain any potential problem at source.

• bounce off the target and be lost,
• shatter into smaller drops or 
• recoil again and stay.

Waxy and  more inclined surfaces, may worsen this effect. Pesticides are formulated to lower this risk of drop bounce especially when being used on the more ‘difficult’ plant surfaces. Application advice, however, may mention the need to add further surfactants, for example, when using higher water volume rates in order to maintain a critical concentration in the spray solution for drop retention and hence efficacy of the pesticide. 

The weather conditions that may compromise the safe and effective use of the pesticide. include: 

1. Rain

• that has wetted the plant surfaces to be sprayed since wet surfaces do not readily retain sprayed drops and so may cause run off. And
• rainfall falling on dry leaves following the application of a pesticide could remove the spray deposit and waste the pesticide applied.

In both cases this also risks contaminating the soil and polluting waterways.

2. Temperature

• The chemical properties of some pesticides may require the temperature at the time of spraying be within a range in order to work properly
• Some pests may be affected by the temperature and thus minimum temperatures are needed to ensure adequate pest activity. 

3. Wind speed

Inappropriate wind speeds may also be stated. If the wind is too fast, the quality of spray distribution over targeted surfaces may be impaired whilst, if too low, the threat of, for example, vapor drift, may be increased. Most commonly, upper wind speeds limited are stated to avoid spray drift.

• the right nozzle to produce the right/required drop size; so that
• you achieve the right spray quality; and
• distribution pattern; in order to
• maximize the capacity of the pesticide to achieve its desired effect (its efficacy) and control the pest.

Different nozzles do different things  and which nozzle is the right nozzle depends upon many factors such as

• how the pesticide ‘works’,
• the characteristics of the pest to be controlled as well as
• the nature of the target and
• the location of the pest on target surfaces.

Maximising the pesticide’s capacity to be as effective as possible, may not only require preferred drop sizes but also drop numbers.  Some pesticides will move easily within a plant, for example, and hence it is not so critical to have good droplet coverage, whilst other pesticides will not move so easily and better coverage is necessary.

Flat Fan nozzles are often used on booms in linear arrays; they are recommended for overall, uniform swath spraying such as on field crop sprayers or minibooms on knapsack sprayers. 

Hollow cone nozzles may be advised for insecticide and/or fungicide spraying as they produce smaller drop sizes.

Reflex nozzles can produce a wide swath from a single nozzle, can be used at low heights over the target surface and do not block easily; features that make them popular on knapsack sprayers. 

Note carefully these conditions and choose the most appropriate rate for the pest under those conditions. Do also remember that pests and weeds may not uniformly infest or threaten your crop. Before spraying, do examine the area and establish if it all needs spraying or if the area to be treated is localized or in patches.

Calibrate your sprayer carefully and ask for further support and training if you are unsure. Read and understand the label’s advice. If this is not clear then do seek training on how to read pesticide product labels from pesticide manufacturers or local agriculture departments or get further help from your product supplier or local extension officer.

Spray projected by a nozzle forms a swath of spray that is designed to impact on a target surface at a distance typically of about 50 cms. Conventional individual nozzles on knapsack sprayers are designed to apply swaths of 1 metre wide at a height of 50 cm. 

For field crop sprayers, nozzles at 50 cm spacings across a boom produce individual triangule shaped patterns that overlap with each other to form a uniform swath. Overlapping patterns help to minimise the effects of boom height changes to the spraying pattern.

You can check your spray pattern visually by spraying water over a flat dry surface such as a concrete yard or a road.  When the volume of sprayed water is uniform across the swath then the spray pattern is good and every target surface treated will be exposed to the same application of pesticide.

• Very Fine - as in protected crop/greenhouse use; 
• Fine - for grass weed herbicides; 
• Medium - for systemic products and other herbicides; 
• Coarse - for soil applications; plus the more recently introduced 
• Very Coarse; and 
• Extra Coarse - for very low drift risk spraying.

A nozzle forms a thin sheet of spray liquid at its orifice which breaks down into drops. Drops produced by this 'sheet break up' method are not uniformly sized and are formed in a range of sizes. The average size of the drop will depend upon the size of the nozzle’s orifice, its design and spraying pressure . 

Different pesticides are now known to be more effective when applied in one size range or another so there is a need to communicate with operators which range is most appropriate for their spraying task. At first, nozzle sizes and designs were used for guidance and then an attempt was made to communicate mean drop sizes too, using numerical values.

• the right pesticide; 
• in the right crop;
• at the right rate [i.e. the prescribed rate as shown on the label]; 
• properly mixed using the water volume rate advised; 
• using the right nozzle (for the pest, pesticide, crop characteristics, growth stage and weather conditions);
• to produce the required drop size (spray quality); and by using
• properly calibrated, well maintained (not leaky) equipment; and using
• best spraying practices.

Pesticides should be sprayed in a manner that ensures only the surfaces that are to be treated are sprayed (e.g. the leaves of the crop) and not the operator, bystanders, nearby crops, hedges fields or streams etc.

If in any doubt then do ask for help.

1. Using excessive rates may damage crops and may cause unacceptably high residue levels.
2. Poor spraying may increase drift risks when small drops are blown in the wind onto other crops, buildings, bystanders and/or water.
3. Using water volume rates that are too low, will increase the pesticide rate  which is a risk to operators and others if sprayers leak and/or pipes burst.

Our growing knowledge is helping us to develop better pesticides, and develop better application technology (sprayers and nozzles). Together this means we can use new spraying techniques and employ better spraying practices and thus lower pesticide rates lessen operator exposure, lower residues and have healthier, greater yielding crops and protect the wider environment.

Pesticides can pollute water in many ways but research shows that one important route is that from point sources rather than by diffuse losses. For example, point source losses are for example, those that arise from pesticide spills onto concrete yards. Yard drainage then directs that spill into open or closed channels that may feed directly into a stream or permeate the soil. Every care must be  taken to avoid such pollution routes.

Research indicates that point source pollution is an operator related problem whilst that diffuse losses are largely weather based. Diffuse losses of pesticide happen for example, when pesticide applications are made when soil and/or weather conditions are [or become], too wet to retain the pesticide. The pesticide may enter field drains that take excess water to streams and rivers.

Normally, run-off increases when water volume rates applied are too high for the particular combination of crop and pesticide formulation. Thus several different water volume rates may be quoted on the label depending on the characteristics of the crop and/or the particular pesticide formulation being used. For instance lower water volume rates may be needed where the crop leaves are waxy and sloping downwards.

In most conventional uses, the  amount or volume of water making up the solution is  much greater than the amount or volume of pesticide. Thus the amount of water and the amount of spray solution are often regarded as the same when it comes to calculating the water volume rate or the spray solution rate.

Labels usually refer to water volume rates rather than spray solution rates  and may state water volume rates such as 100 to 300 litres/hectare. This means that the pesticide must be diluted in and dispersed in water such that when the nozzles are correctly used - the water volume rate that you have chosen and have calibrated for – will, when sprayed from the nozzles uniformly over the treatment area,  apply that known rate and therefore the treatment intended.

Operators using field crop sprayers can reduce drift more effectively with newer alternative nozzle designs such as those that induce air and produce coarser  sprays which are less likely to drift. Some sprayers use air assistance whilst others have shrouds that cover the entire boom. Use of additives to reduce spray drift has also been popular; in general, these products increase the liquid viscosity to coarsen the drop sizes produced.

Air blast [mist blowers] sprayers reduce drift by adjusting air volumes and speeds to ensure crop canopy penetration yet without blowing the spray through the trees, The spray drop laden air is directed only where needed, by using sensor devices that detect where trees are missing.

Some [tunnel] sprayers are enclosed and thus retain the spray within. These can be used to treat smaller trees and bushes.

Knapsack sprayer users can use drift reducing nozzles shields and ensure the correct nozzle height.

Spray drift is to be avoided because although the actual volumes of spray drift may be low, their presence or activity on sensitive plant/animal species, may cause harm. In addition:

• drift deposits may build up in one area to form a higher concentration of pesticide;
• drifting drops that land on non-sprayed vegetation may pollute and damage that vegetation. There are many reports of adjacent crops being damaged by drifting herbicide sprays and in some cases crops are reported as being contaminated or ‘tainted’ by pesticides and rendered unusable for food.
• Drifting drops may also pollute water in rivers and wells or deposit upon bystanders and buildings.

All pesticide users must take full care to avoid drift when spraying. If wind speeds are too high then operators must accept that they will either not have to spray at all or delay the application until weather conditions are better and it is safe to spray.

Many government led initiatives now evaluate and rank drift reducing nozzles and sprayers. The most effective of these may be used to spray closer to environmentally sensitive zones than could otherwise be done with conventional nozzles/sprayers. The section on nozzle selection and their optimised use may be useful. 

1. Residue’ refers to the active ingredient of the pesticide and its constituent parts that can be detected in a crop that has been sprayed. Residue levels are normally reduced over time as the plant grows and processes the chemical. The chemical may be broken down into further substrates – i.e. the breakdown products or chemical building blocks of these chemicals. 

The maximum level of pesticide and/or its breakdown products which may remain in the harvested crop is known as the ‘Maximum Residue Level’ (MRL). The MRL is set by independent bodies and increasingly these are being agreed internationally.

When setting the MRL for a pesticide, regulators consider how the crop is going to be used post harvest. Thus permitted residue levels may vary between crops depending on whether the crop is consumed or processed/cooked and consumed or not. For example, lettuce, carrots, and many fruits that are likely to be eaten without cooking may have lower MRLs then those for cereal grains.

A period of time is set between the last application of the pesticide and harvesting, during which time the residue levels can be expected to have reduced to the MRL. This period of time is known as the harvest interval/post spraying interval (PHI).

2. ‘Residues’ may also refer to the spray liquid or pesticide that is retained after a sprayer or a pesticide container has been cleaned, or to detections of the pesticide in the environmental, eg soil residues, water residues.

Damage to the crop can be caused by spraying a pesticide which was not designed for use on that crop or by getting too much pesticide on that crop - from over-spraying. Where this happens, the crop may absorb the chemical and be unable to process it. This can damage the structure of the plant, its vigour and yields. Most importantly, if the crop is to be used as food/fodder (as opposed to fuel/clothing), the pesticide, which has not been broken down to inactive chemical components (its residues) can still cause harm to the humans or animals that eat it or are in contact with it.

Pesticides are rigorously tested to assess the risk their use poses to human health, animal health and the environment. These tests include finding out the maximum level of pesticide residue which may be permitted to remain in a crop. Thus the chemical is tested with each crop separately. If a crop is not listed on the pesticide’s label it means that regulators have not assessed the potential harm that may result from the use of the pesticide on that crop, and more importantly that maximum residue levels (MRLs) may not have been set for that crop and so any detectable residues would be illegal.

Non-approved use of a pesticide on a crop may not only cause harm but could lead to, to the penalty of serious legal charges. Unapproved use thus threatens not just that user’s trade but that of the country from which it has originated. Importing countries – and now many wholesalers and retailers conduct their own residue surveillance schemes to stop such practices.

Crops that are sprayed with pesticides must be sprayed in such a way that does not damage the crop nor harm consumers of the crop, (the operator or bystanders or the environment).

• the control of pests named on the label; is
• applied at the correct rate; and
• in the way described on the label.

If you use a pesticide against the wrong [non approved] pests in the wrong crops in the wrong way, you are likely to cause damage to your crops and you may cause damage to your soil and the environment, to the consumers of your food, yourself and you may also increase the pest’s resistance to chemical control. For these reasons it is likely to be against the law of your country to use the pesticide against pests and in crops which are not listed on the label.

The label also states

• the maximum pesticide rate;  
• the number of treatments that can be applied to any one crop;
• the harvest interval if relevant; and
• the personal protective equipment that the pesticide user must wear to protect him/herself when preparing and applying the spray solution.

Increasingly, advice is being given on labels on how to:

• prepare the spray solution;  how best to
• apply the spray;  how to
• wash the sprayer after use; 
• discard waste solutions; 
• manage spills; and
• control other potential hazards which may cause harm such as spray drift and point source pollution.

These labels are the most important source of information to you and are a vital link between you and the pesticide manufacturer.  Specimen labels can be viewed here; http://www.cdms.net/LabelsMsds/LMDefault.aspx?ms=1,2,3,4

All advice on the label has been thoroughly tested and has been reviewed and approved by independent regulatory bodies.  It is important to read the label each time you buy the product as there may have been changes to either the advice notes or the conditions of use. Some conditions of use may be required by the law of your country or – if you export your produce - by the international markets.

Pollination is a key issue. It applies for many row crops as well, but the unique micro-environment of orchards brings the burning issue to the vanguard of a pesticide professional's attention. I am as guilty as the worst amongst us when it comes to neglecting pollinators in the rat-race of garnering market share from the competition. It is hard to ask a customer not to spray when you know that an industry colleague will quickly move in to fill up the spray schedule breach. Nevertheless, the compulsions of customer service of integrity will brook no less.

It is not a black and white situation. Look at this 6 second video on YouTube. What can you do when pollinators and butterflies share an inflorescence? Yes, I am an ardent Endosulfan-tolerant Trichogramma supporter, but do you have a 'neutral' and effective solution? Every pesticide I know will kill at least as many pollinators as pests. Very often, the wretched spray droplets do not reach the tops of older trees, yet their stink wipes out entire hives of honeybees.

I would love to hear from you about this vexed (for me) matter of plant protection during flowering.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Nothing can expand the pesticide demand base faster than stopping abuse and promoting safe and judicious use instead.

The pesticide industry is guilty of neglecting farm labour. Our commercial orientation directs us to sellers, paying customers (farmers), and regulators as well. Enormous resources are expended in glossing over issues related to public safety, and in token-ism as well. We should redirect our energies so as to safeguard the lives of poor people who undertake onerous tasks related to use of our brands.

It is rarely a matter of money. A pair of gloves costs less than a dollar, yet the benefits are enormous. It is the same story with boots, eye-wear, and masks. Many people who spray pesticides for a living cannot even afford shirts and trousers. How does this compare with the profits of pesticide corporations and their extravagant marketing budgets?

Regulation can help. What if pesticides were compulsorily sold with safety gear? This is how many of my medicines are available. However, we should not need laws to do the right thing.

Please work towards Californian pesticide safety standards in your area. How glorious it would be if we could do this without being forced to do so.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The stewardship website was set up with this in mind. The Iceland volcano’s disruption of global interconnectedness is a stark reminder to us that we must be judicious on how we manage our environment. Negative ecological pollution may never restrict itself within the boundaries of a given country. Just as nature through its volcanic fury, defied political boundaries so will be the aftermath of any country and industry that does not invest heavily in stewardship.

I empathise with my fellow travellers stuck in airports all over the world, the business community and all those affected.  As we grapple with strategies to counter the plumes of smoke, let us also take time and focus on stewardship. It is within human power to manage farm inputs and other industrial products so as to ensure safety for all. Investing in stewardship is saving the world!

James Shikwati

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Pesticide stench invaded my nostrils many yards before I felt the first droplets on my sweaty shirt. I scurried back to relative safety and shot many clips of this dreadful pesticide abuse, one of which you can see on YouTube

I have a low drift nozzle for a knapsack sprayer, but what does one do for tall trees? Fortunately, mangoes need no more than 4 sprays during an average season, but the illicit tank mixes farmers seem to love, put poor labourers at untold risks. Quinalphos and Alphamethrin were the terribly toxic and blatantly illegal choices of this orchard in Shambda Talab (pin code 227111). I gifted a full set of safety gear to the farmer, in the hope that he would shed some of his awful neglect of basic human rights of his minions. I know that it is far from enough.

Do you have a solution to save lives of the folk who put the delectable fruit on our tables?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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It takes courage to forego pesticide business by telling farmers to shed their calendar spraying schedules. However, the rewards are commensurate with the sacrifice.

I see a new genotype of agri-input sellers emerging. They are in for the long term, and have no hesitation in putting customer interests above financial top lines.

Ironically, these professionals are not young or new market entrants. They are pesticide pioneers. I find a resurgence in their numbers as all farming stakeholders seek escape from the treadmills of chemical agriculture.

The person on the right of the picture is Mr Ashok Sharma. He is a pesticide pioneer in the historic city of Lucknow. I heard him with rapt attention as he enunciated basic IPM tenets to orchard owners on April 07 2010.

I could not have done better, to say nothing of our legion scientists.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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IPM sits well on every pesticide professional tongue, but I am yet to meet a farmer who takes the concept to heart.

The matter is not beyond repair. Methodical empathy through GT can show us how to communicate the optimization versus maximization model of pest control better. IPM asks farmers to turn a Christian cheek towards occasional crop damage. The concept of sustainable productivity helps, in my amateurish GT experience, to turn farmer attention from the immediate to next season and beyond.

Do you practise the kind of IPM you preach? I would love to hear from you.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The men cower and mumble dissent, but I cannot be bothered. It is a take-it-or-leave-it thing. Women and children form the vanguard of my new pesticide safety campaign. The women are also my retailers for non-toxic pest management tools. I give them micro-finance in the form of stocks on consignment. Again, I have no appreciable achievements under my belt-as yet.The future looks glorious and I look forward to what my descendants will have to say about all this.

Join me in this endeavor wherever you may work.

The fly in the photograph is lens distortion from chest to knee. I will hold a deep breath next time. 

Dr. Satya Banerji

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A team of scientists, whose discoveries I market, have handed me the ultimate pest management tool on a Divine platter. Silicate Solubilizing Bacteria are truly path-breakers. They dissolve crystals of the essential mineral, enabling plants (and crops) to access the natural resource of silica.

Silica has five key benefits for farmers, two of which relate to safe plant protection. Silica helps plants develop resistance to pest attack. A foliar silica coat prevents virus transmission by sucking pests.

Take a look at the picture, and write to me to know more. (The white silhouettes are of dead mites; the red ones followed soon after the spray).

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Naseeb showed me some brown muck that lined parts of bark.

"Ah a fungus" I proclaimed.

His pals burst out laughing. They then showed me the hole made by a tree borer ..... believe me it is not easy to spot these things in the sun at 47 Celsius.

I had the last laugh. These guys had the diagnosis, but the solution was in my mind alone. I told them to use a solar lamp to scout for moths after sunset. That way,they could time a contact insecticide spray with precision. I will return to
Saharanpur soon, and will gift a solar lamp to Naseeb's wife. She should be best for scouting, and use the lamp later in her power-starved home. She cannot afford exposure to a contact insecticide, but I will give her man safety gear.

Seriously, decades of field experience pale in the face of a canny farmer. Do not let their polite manners beguile you. They test you every inch of the way, and love to see you stumped. The effort to win back their trust yields treasures. Long live professional agricultural extension for small and impoverished farm families.

Ditto for government scientists at the periphery. These unsung heroes play crucial roles in all plant protection matters. I have access to a solar lamp, but only the local entomologist can spot tree-borer moths in a light-trap tray.

Please swap your story for mine.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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What would crop farming in Africa look like if farmers made a conscious and
informed decision on which type of 'league' they wanted to join?  Major
farming systems in Africa point at farmers who unconsciously play in soccer
like farming leagues.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has a comprehensive
classification of major farming systems in Sub Sahara Africa can serve as a strategic tool to both the farmer and farm input business. The farmer might be interested in determining which 'league' they would wish to 'play in.' According to the FAO map, African farmers are missing in action from the business league.

James Shikwati

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Summer temperatures are lower under the shade of a large tree, but the humidity gets you nevertheless with the plastic of protective gear. I watched farm labourers perspire like 20:20 cricketers and hit upon an idea. I insisted that they take breaks between tank-fulls of sprays, and to drink some WHO-standard ORS (oral rehydration solution) as well. The latter took a day, but the results were marvelous. I am surprised that pesticide safety protocols do not include this simple but effective step.

Farm labourers in Behat love me. I hope to return soon - to spray and to enjoy the fruits of my labour!

Challenge my claim for this 'first'.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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This insight is the entree of my amateur attempts to cook a GT dish. I have
listened to farm families describe their plight. There is some firm though
slim common ground between rural folk and their urban oppressors.

I blame all of us. We sit in judgment  over people who lack facilities and
security that we take for granted. It is hard to swallow their indifference
for food safety concerns of urban consumers, but their flexibility on the
issue is reason for hope.

So where is the common ground? Banknotes, I would say. Farmers would do
nearly anything to get salary cheques before the end of each calendar month.
Old age pension would be better than the Pearly Gates. They may not be
familiar with insurance, but need it for their children, crops, and animals.

Farming is a vast field. It is prudent to stick to one's domain. How can
pesticides fit in to the pastoral picture frame? I know the green answer,
but it is amateurish in my jaundiced view. I have first-hand accounts of
locusts, marauding armies of Spodoptera, and clouds of rust spores, with
which I can regale any blonde who indulges me.

I have not talked enough, until now, about prevention. I need to monetize
this so that I can fight an ingrained phobia about customers buying less not
more.  The road ahead may lie in building durable market share based on
trust.

Biological pest management is easier on the top line. Besides, you can make
up for tiny volumes with decent margins. Again, accountants do not know
where to put customer delight on their sheets, but successful veterans of
the pesticide world crave it like love.

Reflective listening is at the heart of GT. Leverage your loyalty to this
web site to improve your business in pest management.

*The picture is of a poor farmer and his son for whom I help to build a modicum
of financial security.*

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I am sure that each of us has suffered crushing disappointments because of
purchases based on misleading advertisements. What about our customers?
Pesticide advertising carries special responsibilities. The article Un-Ethical Neuromarketing (14 February, CSWire Talkback)  does not mention pesticides, but its relevance to our industry does not diminish on this account.

Surveys show that point of purchase communication is decisive in pesticide safety matters. Dealers, such as the one in the picture and their shops are the most memorable sources of information for farmers.

The international industry association consistently supports ethical communication about pesticide brands. Here is a link I like to use when planning campaigns with which I am associated: Code of Conduct (no date, CropLife South Africa)

What is your stand on this matter?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Here is a link of something similar in Europe for pests: Quarantine after longhorn beetle outbreak prevents 550 Dutch nurseries selling plants (5 February, Horticulture Week)

Third world farmers are often vilified by European regulators for using
pesticides that have fallen foul of Brussels - even if residues are tolerable.
New Zealand's isolation gives it some justification for being so picky about
its live imports, but such trade barriers are farcical between neighbours
with merely political boundaries.

World trade in farm produce matters for it offers so much to all kinds of
prosumers. It is a form of cultural exchange free of establishment
restrictions. I love to gift Indian mangoes and get back some cheese or
chocolates. Besides, exotic fruits can add such panache to a celebratory
meal.

Inspection surely matters, but it should be free. I hope they will not make
us pay for tests on market samples of our pesticides!

Mr Raju Mehrotra's fruit in the picture will be ready soon. He is a generous
host if you can stand the heat and dust of Kakori. It is only a coincidence
that I have to visit the area soon.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Every agri business must respect nature. Social entrepreneurship is even more relevant when you deal with a vulnerable customer segment than when you hawk luxuries under some pretext.

Even if I discount my bias towards an Avatar of my professional Alma Mater, it is most abusive to evaluate a pioneer of diligent stewardship, sustained innovation, and incredible public service, in terms of top and bottom lines on which Wall Street and its clones have thrived. There are multiple dimensions to the vital role research based corporations play not just in our lives, but for the security of our descendants.

We badger managers to cut back on research, development, and better safety standards, when we talk in terms of irrelevant changes in transient financial performance. We insidiously encourage exploitative pricing of irreplaceable technologies when we insist that every quarter must be greater and more profitable than ever before.

Sandoz sent me to a course on Finance for Non-Finance Executives, and transferred to me to the Finance Function to boot. It is high time for financial analysts to get their finger nails dirty. I know that the suits are loathe to leave their Cloisters, but why do you not contribute your own appraisal of all the wonderful things agri companies do day in and out?

The picture is of my friend Mr Sainathan and an Agricultural Officer Mr Mohan at the site for the conversion of organic waste in to manure. The bacterial culture on which this service must survive costs less than peanuts. What is the value of the environmental conservation and wealth generation?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I love Indonesia. It grows rapidly, practices moderate Islam, works to liberate its women, and retains all the names it has inherited from my land. It is no showcase for pesticide safety though.

Canada and California are at the vanguard of new pest management strategies. DEFRA also makes occasional attempts to stand up to bullying Brussels with suggestions to harmonize conflicting needs of prosumers. However, the pesticide industry will no longer be measured by its stewardship in the Old World Order.

We are so accustomed to attacks by greens that we no longer respond to the kind of articles to which I have drawn your attention above. However, our future is even more precarious as vast tracts, like the one from Trissur in Kerala, in the picture, produce record harvests without any trace of chemical pesticides.

Will you and I, like Nero, continue to fiddle, as our bastions of custom disappear?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Can Management Oaths Be Made Less Mockable? (2nd February, Harvard Business Review)

Differences between pesticide professionals and the farmers we serve are always as stark as in the picture. You might dress and eat better if you are from the first world, but the child-like dependence on extension workers for comprehensive and practical safety advice remains.

This makes oath-taking (and keeping) relatively easy and tough at the same time. It does not take time to figure out where our responsibilities lie with respect to communication about our brands. However,commercial compulsions can make pesticide safety a real bullet to bite.

I lived with this excruciating dichotomy during my professional youth by leaning on my technical development peers. They would tell the stark truth while I would meet monthly targets, come drought or floods. Then I chanced upon a pesticide poisoning center one day. I still writhe like a caterpillar in a drop of insecticide when the memories surface.

A new crop season is around the corner. Let us resolve to improve pesticide safety standards for all prosumers. May we have the courage to put growth and profit in their rightful places, with people and the environment in the vanguard of our work.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Use of technology can cut down the amount of time spend on weed control by 99%. The benefits are enormous, children will get more time to play and go to school. Women will get more time to engage in business and other enterprising activities. Families will be fed.

In response to my last blog; a reader asked: “Why push for increased uptake of products among small holder farmers and not focus on scaling up their industrial capabilities?” Pushing for both absorption of already developed technologies and supporting indigenous enterprise might be the best way out. Can you imagine how long it would have taken for indigenous industries to develop cell phone technology under the current skewed global market system that dictates which part of the world ought to produce raw materials and processed goods? Small holder farmers in third world countries need opportunities to grow their enterprises in weed control technology.

Inert ingredients are often kept secret to keep generics and pirates at bay. Many farmers I know swear by original pesticide brands. I do not believe that it is all psychological. Lead brands always cost so much more than generics. Why should canny farmers pay premiums for no good reason?

Some facts about specific batches of pesticides stay hidden without any competitive intention on the formulator's part. Emulsifiers are notorious in this respect. These organic blends can have entirely new phyto-toxic properties with the slightest change in manufacturing process. Even experienced field workers can mistake phyto-toxicity for disease or pest attack. You are not wrong if you can spot jassid burn in the picture, but believe me it has clear signs of pesticide harm as well.

When will all regulators start checking pesticides for irregular composition, and for terrible crop and human harm?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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India has some 16 languages and innumerable dialects. It is not as though we are anywhere near universal literacy as yet, but there is a law that pesticide labels must be in the languages of the regions where they are sold. Manufacturers cribbed that they could not hold area-wise inventories, so the legal definition of a label has been stretched to include a leaflet. Pictures do not lie, and you can see that such a world-leader does not care to keep leaflets with their packs on retail shelves. No naked eye can read whatever has been crammed in to the mini-label.

I feel malicious delight in the following link: Pesticide labels promote bad pest control (no date, The Pest Cemetry)

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I recall an instance of Syngenta paying some former factory owners from Ciba for bladder cancer, even though the Management believed that their product was not to blame. Perhaps the precedent was not serious as the workers were Swiss, but what if customers from all over the world, following the French example, start filing claims? I shudder to think of what penalties governments in Singapore and Beijing, may levy!

I loved mocking company lawyers who wanted promotional brochures and the like to read as though we wanted to avoid custom, but now, some grey hair later, I hate to concede that they had a good case.

I chanced upon the farmer in the photograph. No one told him to handle Chloropyriphos with gloves. The manufacturer of the other product is not the same as for Chloropyriphos. The farmer says that he prefers tank-mixes. He lives on the farm with animals and his family. Children scamper around bare-foot, while his wife is responsible for harvesting cabbages-blissfully ignorant of the re-entry period concept. None of this is exceptional by any means.

I envy the perks that today's pesticide executives enjoy, but not their jobs.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Seriously, it is a worthwhile pesticide safety case. It describes the tragic and needless death of a young person. Simple first-aid and the right antidote could well have saved this priceless life. The newspaper report carries no account of what will be done to prevent such horrific recurrence.

Conventional pesticide safety information and training does not always inspire farmers and sellers. I recall from my Business Management studies how case studies open eyes and minds. Perhaps widespread discussions on all adverse incidents will prompt better learning and preparation for effective pesticide safety. The learning is far from one way. Users, especially farm labour, can provide extension workers with insights on what works or does not,for them. Plastic overcoats without ventilation are top examples of well-meaning designs that are simple unusable in hot fields.

Yes, you can also get a workable translation from google http://translate.google.com/?hl=en

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The major points in the following link would be laughable if they did not have so much potential for harm to farming: When will they ever learn (8 February, Voxy.co.nz)

You must be a stakeholder in the plant protection world to land at this web page, so I will not tax the gentle editor with fundamental rebuttals to the stuff in the reference about pesticide safety. It would be worthwhile however, to dwell on the public face of the pesticide industry, and how it can be improved.

The Internet levels the communication mine field. We are no longer dependent on media types who lord over their columns and air times. Every contribution to a web site like this one helps. Please add your keyboard to this and every other relevant forum. A tremendous advantage we have is to add pure views from farm families like the one in the photograph, who use pesticides safely and judiciously.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I vote for my former employers and current sponsors as one of the best agri-input companies anywhere. I have no defence to accusations of bias, but believe me I have never attended a farmer meeting of this company, in which company brands were at the vanguard. It has always been pesticide safety first. The picture is of a social leader from the outskirts of our Capital and all Mr Raj Singh would say at this sponsored meeting, was about health and the larger public interest.

I have discussed this with the Patriarch of this celebrated concern, and the management does not insist on superior farmer service for altruistic reasons, but because they see it as an expression of cutting edge entrepreneurship.

Can we swap such success stories?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The situation is much worse with respect to toxicology. Nearly everything is done in the research laboratories of the corporations. Certifications are credible only up to a point. Even a simple LD50 test can result in widely different figures from different strains of laboratory animals.

The past can catch up with any of us. There are more examples of drugs been withdrawn from markets, than there are similar cases for pesticides. DDT is an infamous example, but having started my career with it, I continue to believe that DDT can be used safely, and has been made a victim of publicity-seeking activism. Nevertheless, we pesticide types are not immune from the kind of unexpected threat that you can glean at the following link: Andrew Wakefield responds to article about journal retraction of autism study report (3 February, Los Angeles Times).

I lose no chance to jump on my hobby horse. Why are pesticide stewards called to management meetings only when pressures build for bans? Stewardship should be integral in the development process right from the beginning. Perhaps the best corporations do this already. It is certainly in the best business interests, and not just the right thing to do.

Pesticide effects on beneficial insects is a blind spot to address first.

The photograph of the parasite Trichogramma (above) is courtesy of the National Bureau for Agriculturally Important Insects of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Farming is very much a family vocation. Traditions are more practiced in the third world, but traces remain in the most advanced of farming systems. Women and children are front-line victims of pesticide abuse. They and their men are entirely dependent on the pesticide industry and on regulators to safeguard their health and longevity interests. Then there are school-teachers, post-people, local officials, and landless labourers, who form large sections of rural communities. The lives of these people has been behind the proprietary interests of pesticide patent holders-until now. Urban consumers have better albeit imperfect protection through the system of MRLs (Maximum Residue Level). Checks on wildlife are sporadic, and on chronic toxicity for humans and animals virtually non-existent.

Most of my pesticide industry contacts worry that the new US EPA rules will encourage piracy. These fears are not baseless, but the move is also an opportunity for the best corporations to distinguish themselves through better and more comprehensive customer service. I am confident that measures to bring relevant toxicology information in to the public domain will improve pesticide safety levels. Women and children like the ones in the picture, who work in chemical-intensive agriculture would surely rejoice if they knew of this move. I hope that all pesticide professionals will review and upgrade their stewardship procedures to meet the new and improved standards.

 Dr. Satya Banerji

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I would not like to single out any one country for this disgraceful state of pesticide safety affairs. Industry leadership is from international corporations in any event. How can web sites such as this one move to effectively end pesticide abuse?

I believe that we should draw a fresh description of our business. It is not enough to produce quality products, to discover new active ingredients, and to write things on labels that we know our customers do not always read.

There is a clear case for business integration. Some home and industrial pest control operators do this, with single-window service for efficacious pest management. (I do not believe they do enough for safety though, their crews take all the acute risks). Now it is time to offer comprehensive services to poor farming communities.

Pricing should be amongst the first things to change. Generic pesticides certainly do not command the kind of margins that can justify application services. Is this a prompt for casual and marginal players to sell off or simply shut-up shop? Certainly, research-based corporations with global stakes can afford to establish pilot projects where stewardship leads operations instead of sitting on a fence.

Please respond.

 Dr. Satya Banerji

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A mango farmer in Kitui Central in Eastern Kenya invested $67 in crop protection products and reaped $934 in sales proceeds. Neighbouring farmers made an average of $ 400 from their mango sales. Those with a positive attitude approached their colleague to find out what his trick was. His story was simple; he took advantage of a “bottom billion” package tailored for small holder farmers popularly referred to as “Uwezo” (loosely translated from Kiswahili to mean “…As per your ability.”)  “Uwezo” spray regime enabled him to use crop protection products. The result was quality and clean fruit that attracted more buyers.

Who else can determine a farmer’s ability if not he/she! Thinking long term and prioritizing is part of stewardship. On the other hand if product providers fail to make them affordable and create awareness, we may all fall in the trap of blaming innocent farmers.

Every unnatural gene introduction may act as an allergen. No amount of studies with samples of hapless laboratory animals can assuage the fears of people who fear immune reactions in their loved ones. We may not be able to fight the well-heeled interests that push their patents, but we can use pesticide stewardship models to safeguard innocent lives.

There are two regulatory steps that I propose for transgenic varieties of edible crops:

1. The produce, like cigarettes, should be retailed with statutory health warnings. Children below 10 must be forbidden from eating the spurious stuff. Parents, guardians, teachers, and school caterers be warned!

2. Any adult who wishes to eat transgenic produce should, as in the case of drugs, see an immunologist and check whether substances produced by the unnatural gene produce individual reactions. Those with inherited or chronic immune disorders should be especially careful.

"To each his or her own" I say. The controversy over Bt will not go away: In fight over Bt brinjal, Cong backs Jairam (23 January, Times of India), so let us live and let live.

 Dr. Satya Banerji

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Now justice has to be for all. Here is a link where I am sure that grave injustice has been done: Chemicals coat apples decades after Alar scare (18 January, Washington Post) 

I have worked in apple orchards long enough to know that we should worry about heavy metals and systemic fungicides in these delicious temperate fruits. It is sad that a product has to be withdrawn even though residues are below the ADI. The fact that reputed specialists have refused to lend their names to the reports that led to the withdrawal, has not prevented public hysteria in a society that should know better.

Indian celebrities have enormous fan following. Injustice is the only outcome when they lend their assets to causes that they do not understand. Take this one for example: Panteater’ ridding the world of bad pants 

The core issue is for ordinary people like in the picture to get safe food at affordable prices. All strength to a position that fights self-seeking propaganda and bullying from any quarter.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Cinema habits die hard where I live and work. You must have your icons and heroes as well, whatever your chosen distraction may be. How can you wield the sort of influence they have on agrarian minds? The digital age cannot
affect content because farm families will continue to think and assess much as they have done for generations. Fantasy can be an engaging way to realize truths. Perhaps we should ask film script writers to make pesticide safety
presentations. One thing is clear: pesticide safety has a very different value for people who buy the stuff than the other stakeholders involved.

I now realize the power of the deformed cow. Greens have a photograph of one. They claim that it belongs to an area where a pesticide was aerially sprayed. Google has the photograph on the front page of every search for this pesticide as a search word. No one (other than the manufacturers, users, sellers, and other supporters of the said pesticide) have any time for the millions of acres where the chemical is used safely and judiciously and all the cows are normal and holy.

My conclusion is that we have to get gory about the risks of pesticide abuse. Will sponsors play ball? What do you think? I have seen at least one inspiring success story on this site about dramatic success in Africa, albeit with a conventional approach, and would love more stuff to copy.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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"Do you know when it was last sprayed"?

My chauffeur was partly to blame. He explained that I was a pesticide type. The vendor had never met such a nerd for a customer, and tacitly suggested that I move my custom to another kiosk. There was nothing in sight, so I swallowed my fear and insult, and sent the fruit juice down the hatch. I had forgotten about this incident until I read the following post today: Overuse Of Pesticides (3 Jan, Go Articles)

I was about to board my supercilious band-wagon when I suddenly remembered my fear of kinnoos full of systemic pesticides. I do not know about you, but I experience a strange twist of opinion when I change hats from pesticide peddler to consumer.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Other things, as you can see in the picture, have not changed. Wheat harvesting uses combines, but cotton fiber is still picked by hands. There is no spirit of gallantry when it comes to this chore, with able-bodied men lounging around while the women and children in their extended households work.  The people in the picture are literally poor cousins of the land-lord. The child had rushed to the field directly from school, with not even a snack on the way. A pre-harvest interval is not a concern for urban consumers of cotton fibre, but farm labour still has the exposure risks that they have had all their lives.

Bt is touted as a success, as indeed it is for the seed inventor and for companies that own patents for systemic insecticides. India is close to extending the technology to egg-plants. Food security concerns will spur drastic changes in the morphologies and susceptibilities of the crops we grow. Old pesticide safety concerns will fortunately go away, but there are new challenges to address.

It is a good time to be in both seeds and pesticides.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Toxicity is wrongly limited to acute conditions alone. A regular health-monitoring program can go the distance in protecting rural communities. A State in Southern India (Tamil Nadu) offers free health insurance for farmers and their families, but I am yet to meet someone who has used the facility for preventive medicine. The pesticide industry has a proud record when it comes to efficacy, but we need to shift gears when it comes to preventing chronic exposure.

They say that we need to grow more food. The positive implications for the pesticide industry are obvious, but we will lose ground to the organic lobby if we cannot ensure the safe and judicious use of our products. Children more than farmers, should be front and center of all safety initiatives.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Toxicity need not always be acute. It is therefore inadequate to target OPs and carbamates in isolation of the many other chemical groups to which modern pesticides belong. I suggest that the health monitoring protocols followed by pesticide factories be extended to people who have to apply them. The pesticide industry has kept its registration files under tight wraps in order to protect patents, but it is time to put people first.

We should do more to make application equipment safer. The referenced report suggests that strainers should be re-designed to avoid clogging, and to make cleaning easier as well. I have received complaints from my spray operators about dermal irritation from perspiration after using my plastic gear. I plan to introduce slats on the sides for ventilation. Equipment that can be used in the dark should be a big help, since it is safer to spray when it is cool. Besides, pests tend to hide when the sun is hot and overhead.

Safety issues change with the area that has to be sprayed. Low-volume sprayers that operate under high pressure increase both exposure and drift. However, high-volume knapsack sprayers seem to leak at the drop of a hat. That is why the maintenance tips available at this site are so useful. I have found that farmers respond well to this kind of safety training. The picture is of one of my weekly sessions at a Safenet Center. However, no amount of training can substitute monitoring, and I hope that all stakeholders will encourage the kind of work done to protect operators in the US.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The bishop wanted to know what strategies my organization (the Inter Region Economic Network) can offer to the unemployed youth bulge in the western part of Kenya. The crop scientist, I sought out the  because I wanted to know the reason why agribusiness is low in western Kenya. 

I gave a menu of approaches to the bishop. I met the crop expert to test out one of those approaches - agribusiness.

The expert implored me to ask religious leaders to change farmers' attitudes; he gave the reason that small holder farmers are impervious to new ideas. The bishop hinted that part of the agricultural productivity crisis plaguing western Kenya was as a result of parents not releasing land to their offspring  for fear the youth will sell the land for short run goals.

What hit me was the expert's statement that large swathes of land in western Kenya are infected by bacteria by the name Ralstonia solanacearum. R.solanacearum colonizes a plant's xylem causing a disease popularly referred to as bacteria wilt. Bacteria wilt coincidently attacks crops that are fast moving at the market place such as tomatoes, cucumber, potatoes and sweet peppers among others.

As 2010 kicks off, I welcome you to offer ideas on how to fight the conspiracy between bacteria and farmers attitude to crop productivity!

James Shikwati

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The Indian government draws thousands of pesticide samples each season from retail outlets all over the country. It is not easy to detect places where pesticides are adulterated, because no one can check every last warehouse and room in the hinterland of this vast sub-continent. Every significant pesticide manufacturer uses SAP or a similar IT system. It is theoretically easy to integrate these relational databases forward.

I have never met a farmer who enjoys buying a spurious pesticide. Why not tell customers where genuine supplies are available? India also has an extensive co-operative network. State governments were active in distribution during the early years of the Green Revolution, and the infrastructure is still in place. Overall, I think that the pesticide industry can do more in terms of assuring farmers about genuine supplies of pesticides.

This is a suitable topic for international cooperation. What happens in your country? Let us go forward in the New Year by exchanging ideas on how to keep spurious pesticides out of reach of our customers.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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It was a warm day, so I was glad to scurry in to the grove of tall arecanut trees. They had been planted 7 years ago, and looked like a US basketball team. I showed off my knowledge of arecanut agronomy, even as I wondered why they had to grow so far away from the Assamese who chew the stuff incessantly.

I was embarrassed when the farmer identified cocoa plants in-between rows of arecanut. No self-respecting chocaholic should have this source of divinity identified by another. It is just that I did not expect to see cocoa at this GPS spot.

Crops have traversed continents for centuries. Indeed, I could never have done as well in my career had the Mexicans not sent seeds of Phalaris weeds to my country with their wheat. Nevertheless, the jet age has made me dizzy with crazy crop combinations from exotic locales.

Pesticide professionals will salivate at the prospects of deadly pests getting together on the blind dates of untested inter-cropping, but the steward in me urges caution at the impropriety of putting crops of varying heights and branching habits side by side.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Farmers seem resigned, and regulators are oblivious, so it is for industry to build moats. Corporations have foundations and show-pieces, but the veils of their tokenism are wearing thin. It is time to bring the safe and judicious use of pesticides center-stage, and to underscore it in every transaction.

What use is social responsibility outside the core business of an enterprise? You cannot wash away business torts as in an exacting pilgrimage or isolated act of piety. Copenhagen may have harmed the Old Order in additional and subtle ways. I sense a new sense of determination to make the establishment accountable. This translates to continuous and verifiable
improvements in safety standards, and yes, I do not refer to label texts alone.

The best corporations will start 2010 with actions plans for approved budgets. Food safety, application support, and emergency management are 3 top pots of gold to search for when subordinates make their PowerPoint presentations.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Every village has a post person. Advances in literacy do not diminish their importance. Most also till the land. Village elders value their opinions. My paternal grandfather was India's first native Post Master General, but that is not the only reason for me to promote this sturdy and most dependable breed as promotors of pesticide safety.

I did not have to gesticulate to Mr Manoharan to stay silent as I talked with my research participant. Mr. Manoharan kept his thoughts to himself even after the recorder was switched off, but I could sense the wheels of his mind turning as I delivered my customary end-of-meeting stewardship spiel.

Economic progress seems to be linked to a decay of public postal services, but the village cadre remains relevant in poor and emerging countries. Try this cost-effective option as a New Year gift.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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* Editor's note: assertive rather than 'bossy', I think!

Close to a billion people globally are on forced suspended gratification by starvation. Populations facing starvation have not consciously opted to be hungry in order to enjoy life on another day. But just what should the world of compassion invest in?

Poor communities' alienation from their land, lack of access to efficient agricultural technology, poor government agro-policies, and skewed global market systems reduces agricultural productivity.  Farmers can exercise the right of consciously suspending "immediate gratification" if offered wider choices. Unless causes of famine are addressed, hungry populations are denied the ability to exercise stewardship through suspended gratification.

James Shikwati

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He addressed a meeting I attended. It only befitted his stature as a former President that he was all of 2 hours late. He blamed a traffic jam, but surely that must have been caused by his extravagant cavalcade?

He asked us to take an oath. He berated us for mumbling. The meeting was of pesticide and application equipment professionals, so we cleared our throats and roared. Some continued repeating after him, because they may not have realized the Hara Kiri. The scientist turned President wanted us t swear by organic farming.

You have guessed right about my chickening out of confronting him. I could have been lynched going by the waves of people jostling for pictures with him. Not one person I met that meeting found the choice of oath odd. Pesticide safety was not to be heard. Could this be a coding problem? GT analysis gets tougher for me by the day.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I remonstrated when he claimed that my prescription for leaf-miner had not worked. He would have none of it. He had heard that one of my associates from South India was about to visit the area, and decided to relegate me to the depths of a familiar salesperson right away.

I kept a respectful distance when Dr N S Rao made the field visit. However,I had to rush to the rescue as the kindly man was nearly lynched.

"Call yourself a scientist and you do not even know a pesticide name?" Mr know-it-all was incensed when Dr Rao suggested that there was no need to do anything as the crop was reasonably healthy.

Dr Rao was remarkably placid about the encounter. I understand that top clinicians in his city routinely write prescrptions that no one can decipher. The GPs only know the names of common drugs that even kids can spell, while those who conclude that there is nothing wrong with a patient are quacks.

Technical literacy is an icon of material progress.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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"Pesticides exposure helps keep vermin away from our bodies". This shocking assertion is true. You can visit Mr. Om Prakash and verify the statement. I hope that other farmers do not harbour such extreme misconceptions. However, I must admit that concern for pesticide safety is far from where it should be. Clearly, it is a major stewardship challenge, and the lack of awareness extends to other stakeholders as well.

I recall now that I reacted with horror to what the farmer said. It only made things worse. It drove a wedge between the farmer and the entire team with me. It is time for a change. I will try to sit with the farmer alone and understand his health concerns. Does he think that the pathogens to which he is vulnerable are the same as for his crops? What kind of healthcare does he enjoy? How can I help him stay well and protect his crops at the same time.

I hope that GT will make a more effective extension worker out of me.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Venturi nozzles make an immediate impact. The spray-sensitive paper on the left in the image above was held 6 inches from a hollow cone and the other was held at the same distance from a venturi nozzle. A venturi nozzle nearly eliminates drift thus there are major cost savings in store for farmers apart from the pesticide safety benefits.

Unremitting pest attacks makes farmers desperate. They resort to untested tank mixes, irrational spray schedules, and investments that no harvest can justify. P3-pollinators, predators, and parasites, are the first and worst victims of such madness. This must be why pesticide corporations report record business results even as their customers wallow in misery.

You and I can make a difference. Start today.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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It is quite the antithesis of what pesticide sales people are brainwashed to do. The most difficult part is that you have to speak less than the other person. You may think it is a cake-walk to conduct a conversation without a given structure, but embarrassing silence envelops you with no list of handy questions.

The benefits are proportionate. You need to treat what other people say like wine: roll it around in your mind, and savor the after-glow. Develop new insights on customer’s true needs. Build your competitive strength around the subtle emotions of people your business serves.

This has much to do with pesticide safety. Stewardship was never supposed to be restricted to any one wing of an organization. It has to be a founding principle for corporations that deal in pesticides. Grounded Theory is a strong bridge between brand owners, regulators, growers, and consumers. Its takes time to construct the spans, to say nothing of the essential skills. However, the theory generated should work where other approaches to pesticide safety have failed.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Is the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP 15) an indicator that the World is ready to adapt African indigenous style of
managing resources? The climate change debate has mutated from focus on global warming, changes in weather patterns to "earth will melt" away. Poor countries might want to exploit the climate change debate to seek reparations from wealthy nations that have for over four centuries plundered the world's natural resources at will. Wealthy nations on the other hand might exploit this debate to engage in "environmental colonialism;" that is,restrict poor and emerging economies from industrializing at their own pace.

Instead of engaging in an eschatological discussion on the impact of climate change on human activities; it is important to push for stewardship in the quest to feed the world and accumulate wealth. The African approach above was meant to curb wastage; a step to reduce wastage say, in crop production, can go a long way in addressing environmental concerns.

James Shikwati

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Have you met a farmer with a sound accounting system? He or she must be relatively well-off on the sustainability front. Harvest maximization is an opiate that drives once-prosperous farmers to desperation. They are victims of a negligent pesticide industry, of which I am an admitted part.

It need not be so. Rapid and significant improvements are possible with the most modest of budgets. You might not break any sound barrier of annual sales growth but the foundations of your business can be secured. Balance Sheets and statements of profit need to be revamped if not thrown in to trash cans. The prosperity of customers, conservation of the environment, human safety, and transparent margins are 4 new cardinals towards which pesticide leaders must navigate.

A greater say for pesticide stewards is a panacea I tout. I have said it before on this forum. Please respond.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Most of my pesticide industry support sustainability - as long as it has nothing to do with our own turf! Keep on the Nelson's Eye at your peril, for regulators will pull the carpet from under your feet, if you do not get your act together.

No major change is quick, but I feel that we should replace solvent with water-based emulsions. ULV formulations with air or gas driven applicators, is another development that will bring in swathes of conservation credits. It may sound like Hara-Kiri, but accents on IPM to reduce the frequency of pesticide applications, will sustain the industry in the long run.

I suspect that many of us do not recognize our environmental foot-prints. That is why Life Cycle Analysis is an essential tool to benchmark the total impact of the pesticide industry. We can achieve significant results over time with a Kaizen approach to improvements from one season to another.

There is the inevitable issue of economics. There is a strong case, in my mind, for making environment-friendly technologies freely available. We all know that emerging economies will step on the gas as far as pesticide consumption is concerned, so why not help them cap emissions, and meet food/fibre security targets at the same time?

The article to which I have referred makes a case for biotechnology. I am skeptical about this. Everything gained in terms of caterpillar attacks on Bt crops is lost in terms of terrifying explosions of sucking pests. I vote for more certain improvements by tweaking traditional pesticide formulation and application methods.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Industries other than pesticides have used such business models, and have run aground: The U.S. Can't Manufacture the Kindle and That's a Problem (13 October, Harvard Business Review)

Many herbicides and systemic fungicides have suffered rather short life-cycles in recent times. This has accentuated outsourcing tendencies. Has the pesticide industry become overly dependant on third parties to keep supply chains flowing?

Branding and marketing infrastructure used to be formidable entry barriers, but it has become possible to circumvent such obstacles with the Internet. Some valuable patents will expire as we enter the second decade of this century. I suspect it is time to return to manufacturing as a core competence.

Stewardship has a key role in the shape of things to come. You cannot integrate without inflating fixed costs. A product steward should be part of every strategic planning team. Pesticide professionals must learn to keep their brands on shelves in the turbulent times unfolding.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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There was a time when all pest management was by beneficial insects. We are dependant on them for natural pollination to this day. Honey remains a top choice for health and wealth amidst impoverished agrarian communities.

India has a unique place in the world of beneficial insects. We are the only nation with genotypes of predators and parasites that tolerate pesticides such as Endosulfan. The inherent adaptability of the Arthropod phylum has been put to sound IPM use.

Why is it that such technologies are missing from the commercial chapters of the pest management saga? The oligopolistic structure of the industry could be a reason, because top pesticide corporations cannot patent such natural and generic solutions. Or is it because science remains in the laboratories rather than stepping out into the heat and dust of villages.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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This is probably a case of employer or contractor negligence. The end-result is tragic no matter who is and who is not responsible. These disasters do no good for the embattled pesticide industry, though it is easy in the short-run to limit liabilities to product quality and to valid label claims.

I think it is time to tweak the pesticide business model. Consider analogies from the travel sector. Public transport comes with certified drivers and conductors. Even an automobile has two kinds of brakes and air-bags. Why not have licensed people to dispense pesticides? Keep track of every pack from factory gate back to factory gate (empty and ready for recycling or disposal?) Provide training and employment to able-bodied rural men, when it comes to storage, application, and clean-up. Build cadres of first-aid workers to support emergency centers with qualified medical personnel. Extend the infrastructure to homes, offices, warehouses, and production units, where pesticides are used for any reason.

Generic players will get new leases of life. Large numbers of laboratory animals will be saved from avoidable torture. Patent lawyers could experience a slump, but it will all be for the good cause of better pesticide safety standards.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Regulators take time to keep up with new analytical methods. I recall how volumetric methods for total phosphorus allowed pirates to get away with murder when OPs first appeared in markets. This has proved to be a major impediment for biological, herbal, and organic products, because specifications and monitoring methods are so different from what government inspectors are trained to do.

It is with this backdrop that I welcome the following initiative in the State where I live: Sub-standard pesticides: licences of 4 cos suspended (2 November, Times of India) 

Production and cost accounting professionals have used consumption to monitor batches for a long time. Integrating such procedures in to regulation will save public resources and assure farmers of more reliable pesticide quality.

We should copy this approach for chemical pesticides also.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Buyers and sellers get more attention than the people who actually spray pesticides many times each season. I am glad to find a company that has set aside resources for spray operators. Again, recognition for pesticide safety is a move worth emulating. Pressures for business results drive companies to reward increases in off-take and consumption, with inadequate attention for right use practices. Finally, rewards are generally in the form of consumer durables. I am delighted to find that Syngenta awards prizes in the form of study tours. Some of my own most memorable lessons have been from visiting farms in distant countries. Most farmers I know cannot afford to visit their peers in other parts of India. Corporate infrastructure enables them to undertake such trips even if they have to pay for tickets.

I hope that Syngenta will institute such awards in India, and that generic producers will copy this practice as well.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Law enforcement is crucial to food security. One tends to realize the crucial role of the police only when one gets robbed or mugged. The same applies to the importance of farmers during famine episodes. Unfortunately, for Africa and most developing countries, both the agricultural sector and law enforcement systems have been relegated to illiterates and school dropouts! I was very moved by the police officer's passionate plea to Kenyans to ensure that the police force gets reformed to attract the best of the minds!

Who should feed the over 1 billion people faced with hunger and malnutrition globally? The first line of defence against hunger ought to be investment in up-scaling knowledge from and to farmers. Agricultural stewardship must focus on knowledge transfer to farmers just as automotive driving calls for trained drivers.

James Shikwati

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The pharmaceutical industry has responded by competing aggressively in generics, and by shifting R&D from India to China. The pesticide industry cannot follow suit because the agricultural business scope of India is not to be ignored on any global scale. That is why an appropriate response by corporate researchers is such an issue. It is a pesticide safety issue because corporations will not invest in new molecules unless they effectively address the risks of this business.

Manufacturing integration is one answer. The top pirates have started their enterprises as suppliers of intermediates. Methyl parathion and Chlorothalonil are  telling examples of active ingredients that have beaten patent expiry through walls of secrecy around their production processes.

A review of pricing processes could also help. The pharmaceutical industry is able to pick up extravagant mark-ups because patients pick up tabs only indirectly (through insurance or the State). I know farmers who pledge family heirlooms to protect their crops. A drastic price reduction by a generic producer leaves them feeling cheated by the original brand.

What do you think?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Stewardship is a stamp of the international pesticide industry. Other toxic products have been eliminated from markets altogether. A myopic view of abuse of products for which you are responsible does not pay-unless you plan to jump ship soon. These are my musings after reading the report: Chemical Industry Lends Support to Reform (9 August, Washington Post)

I would like to know what you think about all this. Have you been brainwashed in to dreaming of a 'no-chemical' life as a result of green propaganda? Or are you like Stalin determined to exterminate the trouble-makers who rant about pesticide safety and the like? It appears to me that the world has shrunk for extremists of all kinds. This should be as good a time as any to return to the Camelot years of stewardship. A fresh and unbiased look at the risks we take should do no harm in any event.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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All pesticide professionals should spend time helping local communities use pesticides safely and correctly. The simple act of insisting on documentation at all points of sale is enough to dampen the spirits of smugglers and abettors of illicit trade. The nature of our business is such that a proportion of sold goods will remain on retail shelves. The first thing is to monitor slow-moving inventories and offer meaningful incentives in consumption centers for FIFO. This is an area where Crop Life can make such a major contribution, because most generics suffer from excess production. Incineration and underground disposal do not lend themselves to individual or local action, so common treatment facilities are essential for pesticide safety.

Roll-up sleeves and lets get to work!

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I must confess that I am not less guilty. I have just completed an e-campaign with activated humic acid. My field team ignored pleas for protective gear when conducting germination demonstrations. An organic mix will do no harm, but how can we expect farmers to take precautions if we abandon them ourselves?

This brings me to a basic difference between the agri and drug arms of enterprises in the Life Sciences. Medical personnel never miss a trick when it comes to gloves, hand-washing, coats, and stethoscopes, even when they are redundant. Pesticide professionals would do well to emulate this stickiness for protocols.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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While there is some controversy over GM technology, surely everyone knows that we need new herbicides at regular intervals. Any farmer who has farmed land for profit will recall the amazing resilience of weeds. It is not a matter of herbicides alone. I regret that we may not be able to afford table grapes next spring because a tolerant mildew has struck in western India. There is exciting new chemistry for insecticides as well. How can we achieve balance in the public mind over the values of patents?

Traditional extension wisdom tells sales people to communicate benefits rather than prices per se. I guess this works with users and sellers better than with influencers. Besides, the steep price-falls that accompany patent expiries are difficult to justify. Is there a way in which we can communicate corporate Research and Development expenses more effectively,especially the failed projects? The Government of India has kicked off an austerity drive to show empathy for the poor and drought-hit. Pesticide companies with pharmaceutical lineages do live rather extravagantly, driving around in grand SUVs and booking the grandest hotels in town. The savings you can achieve with less ostentation may not add up to much, but it can go some distance in correcting the impression that research-based agri-input companies live off the fat of the land.

I used to think of this as a third-world issue, but the bug seems to have travelled down under.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The current regulatory environment is a daunting stewardship challenge. Some of my industry friends wonder if it is time to move on to less contentious pastures for business. However, virulent pest outbreaks continue, and cries for help from desperate farmers should be enough to keep pesticide professionals committed to their vocations. Downy mildew for example, seems to have developed tolerance for all established fungicides in grape vines of western India. You can hardly find an unspoiled pomegranate anymore, thanks to an unidentified bacterial disease. Sucking pests on Bt crops are other examples of pests that prove to be obdurate.

The UK example to which I refer lends support to an inclusive kind of stewardship. The function has focused until now on marketing and distribution teams. Pesticide-safety training is seen as a boring chore by most farmers. It is time for all stake-holders to get pro-active about safe and judicious use of their favorite pesticides. We can all be winners with such an approach.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Working towards better pesticide safety standards can be frustrating. Farmers who are relatively wealthy, look at you askance at the very mention of even rudimentary care for farm labour. The latter do not help either. Is there something macho about exposing yourself to pesticide dangers?

I do not know whether to rant or feel somewhat relieved on reading that things are not that much better in even the most powerful nation on earth: Take Action: Stop Proposal to Exclude Farmworkers from Health Care Coverage (14 July, Beyond Pesticides).

Farm labourers truly have the dice stacked against their well-being. Old age must be hell without medical care in such exacting and abusive circumstances. Then there are the evils of exposing women and children to grave risks. I see so much concern in media about less critical matters concerning urban communities. Ignorance about farm realities is no bliss. Only pesticide professionals such as you and I can make a difference.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Stewardship tends to get isolated. The pesticide industry conducts meetings of farmers, puts diagrams on labels, and continues dialogue with regulators. Abuse continues unabated at Ground Zero. A serious contention is the habit of activists to present unsubstantiated allegations of pesticide toxicity. Children with tragic deformities are pictured to support calls for bans. My industry friends grind their teeth in rage at the lies, but fight shy of taking the battle to the enemy camp.

Stewardship can be pro-active. It should be possible to present medical data on people who work with pesticides without violating their privacy rights. The collation of clinical proof of pesticide safety is not the only benefit I have in mind. We can also ensure timely treatment of people who may be afflicted with early stages of potentially fatal diseases. This is most relevant in countries where medical insurance and annual examinations are rare.

Support medical care for dealers, farmers, their workers, and families as well. I wish the medical insurance industry would support such initiatives.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Metabolism is an important part of pesticide regulation. Molecules with half-lives in years can no longer escape from any research laboratory. However, acute toxicity for the human nervous system is a concern for even a single exposure.

Efforts to promote the use of safety gear have not yielded universal results until now. We do know that personnel in reputed pesticide factories work for decades without accumulating harmful levels of pesticides in their body fluids and tissues. It seems to be a matter of impressing on people who use pesticides the vital need to avoid exposure.

How can we approach this colossal task?

I suggest a 2-step approach. The first is to build a cadre of skilled and equipped pesticide operators. The other is to monitor the health of these people at least once a year, as is the case with pesticide-factory workers. Pricing should reflect these costs, and licensed retailers should have some control responsibilities as pharmacists do for their sales of prescription medicine. It would require a major structural overhaul but the safety and health benefits are worth it.

What do you think?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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At the moment the push is on getting more fertilizer, improved seeds and chemical farm inputs to small holder farmers in developing countries. Each of these items carries with it plastics, metal fibers and other materials that are not necessarily biodegradable. Where farmers fail to use farm chemicals, say due to drought, they are faced with another challenge of disposal. The quest to upgrade activities of subsistence farmers might turn hazardous to both crop life and human life. 

To fight famine, stewardship initiatives ought to be part of the game plan. The same way we learn traffic rules to ensure that our quest to drive automobiles does not turn hazardous to other motorists and ourselves.

James Shikwati

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Inter-cropping is nearly as old as the hills. I have seen medicinal plants in a mango orchard. The canny farmer harvested a record crop even as his neighbours rued their empty baskets and enormous pesticide bills. What if
everyone tries to keep mango hoppers away by this method? The thirsty critters will suck on whatever they can find.

Balance is the fulcrum of IPM. You take any extreme step and pests will adapt. It is a dynamic matter. Hanging on to old truths can be most counter-productive. Some University professors seem steeped in meetings. Nothing benefits a farmers more than home visits by specialists and technologists. Entomologists, pathologists, and the like benefit in equal measures, for what is the use of knowledge if you cannot put it to work?

I hate pests that live off and around roots. They hit you below the belt. Most things you can do to keep them away are polluting. The worst part is that they can strike after the farmer has invested significant resources in a crop. I think the way entomologists in the Mid-West help US farmers combat root worms is wonderful. I have resolved to try something similar with the jassids, mealy bugs, and other 'drinkers' that so beleaguer the farmers with whom I work.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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It does not matter where you work or who your employer is. Here is a cause deserving of universal support. It is also something every agri-input organization can emulate. A sort of trading in carbon-credits, but in far
more productive form.

Pollination is the most under-rated natural phenomenon. I do not mean that the fuss about global warming is misplaced. However, Colony Collapse Disorder is more emergent. The horrific decline in honeybee colonies may never be understood completely. However, Syngenta has shown that we can act decisively against this aberration of nature.

Why stop with pollination? I think that pesticide companies can establish biological reserves for amphibians, indigenous crops, and all other species under threats from modern farming. Remediation is a becoming route for harmony between protagonists of the pesticide industry and others. May we all win!

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Fortunately, domestic agri-input companies in this sub-continent have cottoned-on. Quite a few of them have tried a variety of business models to integrate input supplies with output trading. It is a volatile business, so you must be wiiling to take hard knocks when inclement weather comes calling. However, you can build a fortress around your brand share if you help customers market their produce.

I suppose that corporations with kitchens full of exciting new molecules can relax. However, extinction beckons generic producers fattened during the early decades of the pesticide industry. There is a special place for those who choose fresh and edible farm products. Food safety is a burning issue. Addressing it constructively will turn a major industry hurdle on its head.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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It may have much to do with my obsession with pesticide safety and emergency-preparedness. People living around the Union Carbide plant did not know the ridiculously simple way of dealing with an phosgene leak. Similarly, Swiss fire fighters did not know that their waste water could hurt river eels.

Pesticide factories are islands in terms of the technology of safety. Things that are no more than common sense for plant managers can be completely alien for ignorant neighbours. There is a condescending attitude with respect to media and public awareness, coupled with a childish fervor for keeping every leak under tight wraps.

My former colleagues argue that it has paid until now to have the vision of an ostrich. Perhaps they pray to reach retirement before a disaster strikes. I vote for a proactive approach and a sustained effort to reach out to people at large.

How would you respond to this? Leakage of Gas at Syngenta pesticide plant at Corlim, Goa (18 September, mandgoablogspot)

Dr. Satya Banerji

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African women produce 60 - 80% of the food on the continent. The seed banks we so much benefit from - and which embody so much agricultural knowledge - were passed on generation to generation and were largely created by women. Indigenous societies' respect for the strategic knowledge held by women kept agriculture alive. African women were rendered without property when Western legal system clashed with the indigenous ones. Women ownership of land in the new system stands at only 1% of arable land in the continent. Why then are we surprised when Africa experiences famine? 

To increase food productivity, a revised recognition of property ownership that respects indigenous titles to land of women ought to be revived. Basically an intensive agricultural knowledge sharing and revision of property right definition ought to be added to a wider menu of suggestions to fight famine.

James Shikwati

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Systemic products are clearly greater concerns. No tap can wash them away, and the residues probably lurk well below any peel. The MRL logic has waning
relevance in a global world where diets are no longer national. I am from the land of curry but probably eat less of it than many Londoners. Similarly, I have never met an Italian who can match me pizza slice for slice.

There is silver news in these dark clouds. Bash Brussels all you want, but their dogmatism seems to work: European Food Safety Authority Publishes Its First Report On Pesticide Residues In Food (12 July, Medical News Today)

Most of us are conditioned to support growth. However, a 1% decline in the number of samples with harmful pesticide residues is an exceptional reason
to celebrate. I hope that French grapes were part of this encouraging survey, though I will lean on the ed* as usual as I am a teetotal- what you may call it.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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^{* Editors note: and as usual I have no idea what you are talking about.}

The Internet is an unsheathed sword that anyone can use. There used to be a time when it was limited to the affluent, literate, and fluent in English. Those days are past. Each voice counts on the Internet. Millions of farmers use pesticides every day. Stewardship has a special role in all this since you cannot throw stones without fortifying your house in the first place. Most of my industry friends tend to focus on gaping holes in arguments used by activists but overlook lapses in safe use practices that occur under their noses. A commitment to continuous improvement in pesticide practices is the stanchion on which the vacuous writing at the following link can be fought: How To Save Money on Organic Foods (10 July, prweb)

Do take the trouble to peruse this link. It affirms that no conclusions can be drawn from the referenced study! That does not stop the author from abusing the Internet facility of providing quick support for a postulate. There is no mention of ADI, MRL, or PHI. I suppose we should be charitable and say that the author simply does not know.

I hope you will take the time to spread the word about pesticide safety, and leave no stone unturned to ensure that children are not harmed by the food
they are served. Some of this effort has to be to counter false reporting on the Internet, and to use the medium to present facts as well.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The first reason to celebrate is that profit-generating Syngenta has time to recognize the best spray operators in a country. Where would we be without them? A toxic pesticide can be used without harm thanks to their skills. A relatively benign pesticide could kill if they were not around to do our dirty work. Spray operators are a special but unsung breed in India. Many farmers do not own enough land to support their families. Spraying pesticides for landlords is a remunerative if taxing source of welcome revenues. Even farmers who spray pesticides on their own farms can be decisive factors in safety standards. Drift and contamination are largely in their hands.

Some pesticide companies I will not name offer extravagant gifts for contests they run. This generally takes the form of alcoholic binges, and even stretches to shady sojourns in Asian cities rich in night-life. Taking champion farmers to a neighbouring country to meet with their peers is a stellar idea in this firmament. You can have an enjoyable time and widen your horizons at the same time.

Then there is this effective and affordable way of disposing off waste. I wish I had thought of such a system for India. Anyway, there is no harm in copying for a good cause! Can you think of a greater risk than that of all the toxic waste left over after a pesticide spray? How wonderful to have a solution that all territories can implement. Print and read the referenced article over and again.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Outsourcing has always been big in pesticides. Toll manufacture is more common than most farmers realize. The pesticide big-5 buy most of their
intermediates, and often know very little about how they are made. This matters because I know at least a couple that are way more toxic than the
active ingredients in to which they are transformed in kettles (industrial).

Marketing is another classic for outsourcing. There were times when the whole shindig was left to distributors. One of the first things a rookie salesman (male chauvinism intentional) gets is a gang of outsourced assistants. You can order them around, but they do not figure in your headcount. The latter is a cardinal crime in the pesticide industry, since who knows whether a drought, flood, or God forbid, pest-free season lies ahead!

Seriously, outsourcing has stewardship implications that rarely reach Board rooms. Executives in air-conditioned comfort, wax eloquent (as do I) about label claims and what-have-you. Things at Ground Zero (as North Americans say) are carefree and expedient. Any pest will do in the storm of a sales-review meeting.

I am sure that Syngenta will make sure that all their outsourced people from the link below meet top stewardship principles and guidelines: SRG completes Syngenta RPO roll-out (9 July, Recruiter.co.uk).

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Intel has a running campaign on television in India. It shows their engineers in the garb of popular icons. I am sure it will go a long way in cementing public respect for IT nerds (sorry again ed*). Agri-input companies are mean about francs for media advertising. That is why so many of my heroes in research laboratories stay unsung. It is not so much Syngenta as some of the roots from which it has sprung. People have spent all their professional lives in working towards sustainable farm productivity. The vast majority live away from public gaze, and the few who make it to the spotlight generally do so for wrong reasons such as an accident or a warehouse fire.

The report to which I refer in this post has a significant twist. Syngenta does not conjure genes from another planet. It always starts work with *indigenous* traits, and stays close to local compulsions throughout the development process. It is drought-resistant corn in one continent, and virus-resistant hot peppers in another. The results are there for all to see, though most of us take it for granted. I attach a picture of a family in Central India (Deulgaon Raja) that has experienced dream prosperity, uplift of their lives and modernization of their farm technologies, ever since they began associating with the production of improved seeds. They are a model of conservation, blending ancient customs, indigenous genes, and some exotic ones.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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^{* Editor's note: No problem, there are many many ways that I can get my own back ... and you may never know when or what I've done!}

There is a common thread in all three essays. I perceive a move towards running farms as enterprises. The cooperative model has wonderful success stories in India, the UK, and in Australasia. Similarly, consistently successful international corporations such as Nestle and Unilever are demonstrations of the durable values of branding farm produce.

Banking, mobile telephony, and IT have grabbed the industrial and economic spotlights in recent years. The Head of India's Planning Commission has recently boasted of how the ongoing drought does not matter because agriculture no longer dominates his economy. Poor monsoon to affect growth: Montek Singh Ahluwalia (19 August, in.news.yahoo.com)

How do you value food and fibre security? What if millions of farmers are in distress? We all have agrarian background if you go back far enough along the family tree. However, few people have true empathy for those who live off the land. The stink over pay and bonuses for incompetent bankers may drive us to breaths of fresh pastoral air. What better route than the young and unspoiled minds of students?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Victory, if there is one in such a matter, is pyrrhic. I feel bad that a body of pesticide professionals should exult at this court decision. It is surely in bad taste to write-off the sufferings of a lady on the specious grounds of her qualifications. How can we expect lay people to produce scientific evidence about dangers to which they have been exposed? Prior information and records are not adequate when the vital interests of communities are at stake.

I am not sure what the farmers'beef is. Can you maintain an account of your finances, but not one of your toxic pesticide sprays? I know for certain that it is possible to use pesticides without contaminating the environment. Besides, the benefits in terms of human welfare make any effort worthwhile. Is such a perspective bad for pesticide company bottom-lines? Not necessarily, is my view. It is a matter of crafting the right corporate values with a sustainable strategy to match.

Myopia is easy to correct, but self-destructive if ignored. So it is with pesticide stewardship. Breathe no sigh of relief because British judges have sided with drift. The droplets will hit your business even if they do not make it to your skin and lungs first. Yes, litigation can be absurd, but it is in the industry's own interest to face the bitter truths of abuse of their brands. Similarly, farmers who ignore the concerns of their neighbours will eventually give way to food and fiber imports from better-regulated nations

Dr. Satya Banerji

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PBO or pipernyl butoxide enhances pesticide efficacy, it is the best-known catalyst around - but is it the only one? These catalysts can be slipped in to formulations without anyone knowing. You need only traces to make it work. Regulators check products from retail shelves for active ingredient content, but previously could not tell if a formulation has been changed from the formula with which it was registered. I guess that large degrees of variations between batches must have slipped through to farmers during earlier decades. However,with cutting-edge chromatography finger-printing pesitcides is now possible. We must not let the guard down. Chronic toxicology is so expensive and inhumane that no one would gladly repeat it. That is why I view the work reported below with skepticism: Researchers excited about breakthrough in stopping resistance to pesticides (3 July, Horticulture Week).

There is more to do for pesticide safety than the money and time resources we have to spend. Setting the right priorities can save more crops and lives. It is a matter for concerted action across the globe. I feel that we cannot afford the luxury of searching for higher efficacy because safety can brook no compromise. We have also to keep our records in good order lest we embark on searches for answers that are already known. I enjoin your professional efforts in these directions.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Whereas industry may be concerned with safe use of their farm input products; farmers (consumers) on the other had have to focus on the general health of the environment. One way of doing this is to invest in reclaiming arid and semi arid areas as opposed to rushing to virgin forests for farming. Reclaiming such pieces of land is the best way to make farmers to stop accelerating climate change.

Broader stewardship concerns may have to include discussions on the impact of activities of people who stay upstream to those who stay downstream. Increased episodes of drying rivers may bring into play payments to those upstream to conserve water catchment areas. Alternatively, striking a balance through awareness of the interconnectedness of human activity to crop productivity will make stewardship work for all. 

We love apples in India. They are more expensive than bananas, but excellent value when you feel a bit under the weather or expanded at the waist. It takes months for the fruit to make it from last spray to anyone's mouth. Moths go away long before fruits set, and most pesticide applications are fungicides. The latter often double as medicines for sick people, albeit in different formulations. I fail to see any cause for concern in Taiwan for apple imports from anywhere. They might have pathogens, but it is ludicrous to suggest that 0.5 ppm of Endosulfan should be the reason for an import ban. I compliment Taiwan on a rational decision.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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We are friends now, but I detested this fellow Klaus at first sight. The grapevine said that he went to college with the CEO, and still lunched with him regularly. Klaus 'requested' me to stop sales in lucrative segments on one flimsy ground after another. 'No label claim', 'poor farmer practices' and goodness knows what else! He was greener than that Carson lady, and still has alien hobbies like riding ponies.

The good news is that his bitter medicine works. I know now that you can sell more and for longer by selling less and withdrawing. I guess this is part of the pesticide business scene. Self-regulate or get banned. So my advice to the guys in Paraguay hit by the news at the following link is 'stick with the course': Paraguay Growers Threaten Strike Over Crop Protection Product Restrictions (29 June, Farm Chemicals International)

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I guess it shows how little the lay public and the media know about pesticides. Why are synthetic pyrethroids so named? What about Azadirachtin? The pharmaceutical world has eminent herbal citizens as well. Why do people know so little about the established concept of useful herbs?

The misconception about everything from nature being safe is more worrying. Plants can produce some mean toxins. Have you heard about girls falling ill because of unrestrained phyto-estrogen intake? Ask me for links on this if you are unaware of how dangerous some natural substances can be - dose dependent of course.

Chemical finger-printing is another issue. Some activists fondly imagine that villagers can hop around extracting juices from plants on their own. I have seen that even small changes in extraction conditions can alter the chemical composition and proportions in a natural substance.

There can be many slips between useful herb and crop field, but I do wish developers all the best.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I am surprised that a premier educational institution could overlook the inherent variability of agriculture. Are all seasons the same in the UK? Will dairy and fruit production withstand an epidemic of pathological microbes without pesticides? I regret that 'the greens' have squatted so extensively on the sustainability field that there seems no room for the rest of us.

An early lesson in IPM training is to try and prevent pest attacks. I do not find the kind of phobia for deterrents in the national and world defence fields, as seems to prevail in moves to fight chemical-enabled agriculture.

Then there is the matter of economics. Subsidies have ways of so invading the righteous psyche that activists cannot manage life without them. Why do consumers who fancy organic labels fight shy from paying for their foibles? Here is an example of the malaise that afflicts the 'green mind'. Organics industry growth in jeopardy (30, June, frogblog).

A drought looms over most of India as I write this. Perhaps this prompts me to suggest that it is time to shed the boxing gloves and to work as one for sustained farm-production security. I neither want a hole in the ozone layer nor one in anybody's stomach. Can you please tell me why Integrated Crop Management is not a comprehensive way forward?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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A standard pesticide development and regulatory procedure takes care of the fears imagined in the referenced letter; that is why most active ingredients do not make it to market. Some of those sold in the last century have been voluntarily withdrawn. The pesticide industry, which is so conservative about product claims and operations, deserves better.

Transparency is a reliable way forward. There is less justification for keeping toxicology information under such tight wraps. The Indian government has taken a useful step in bringing regulatory deliberations into the public domain.  Some dark spots remain with respect to patented molecules, but like sensitive government files, these too will come to light with the passage of time.

Pesticide abuse, on the other hand, continues without any systematic monitoring. Farmers can buy pesticides without any records or safeguards, to say nothing of consumer business in household pesticides. Water, food, soil, and even air are contaminated with only random and rare checks.

Stewardship is so internal to the pesticide oligopoly that many of my friends do not even understand the nature and role of this vital function.

Let us join hands and work together for positive change.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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On-line References and Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety

N.B. This defintion relates to the issues discussed in the section on human health

On-line References and Resources

N.B. This defintion relates to the issues discussed in the section on human health

On-line Reference and Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk

N.B. This defintion relates to the issues discussed in the section on human health

N.B. This defintion relates to the issues discussed in the section on human health

On-line Refernces and Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazard 

N.B. This defintion relates to the issues discussed in the section on human health

Computer experts are aware of malware – short form for “malicious software” that is designed to infiltrate a computer without the owners’ informed consent. Computer users are familiar with viruses, Trojan horses, worms, and spyware among other programs that cause harm to the operating system. When one talks about famine in Africa, it is also crucial to take a moment to evaluate the hostile and intrusive programs operating in the background of food aid and aid in general. What led to majority of Africans changing their diets?

Over 50 years of food aid targeting Africa and the resultant increased famine episodes point at a possibility of a food “malware” – a malicious system that changes people’s dietary habits in favor for imported foods. The same malware has penetrated agricultural schools that prepare graduates to promote the new foods as opposed to upgrading local varieties. The worst bit is on the political leadership – their minds have been corrupted so much with the quest for kickbacks to such an extent that they do not invest in local solutions. Foreign solutions come loaded with a possibility of a quick “10%;” and in the absence of a working “anti-virus” it logs its intentions on to the African nations’ operating system forcing the continent to be perpetual beggars.

To reduce famine incidents on the continent, Africans must develop a system of detecting the “malicious background operating system” from donors that has not only denied them a chance to promote their local cuisines but has also exposed their land up for grabbing. It is time we invested in our indigenous crops, turned our rural populations into celebrated food suppliers through incentives and invested in technology to free our continent from perennial famine. Contrary to common beliefs, money is not the solution to Africa’s famine problem; food aid is not the solution either … getting rid of the “malware” is!

Computer experts are aware of malware – short form for “malicious software” that is designed to infiltrate a computer without the owners’ informed consent. Computer users are familiar with viruses, Trojan horses, worms, and spyware among other programs that cause harm to the operating system. When one talks about famine in Africa, it is also crucial to take a moment to evaluate the hostile and intrusive programs operating in the background of food aid and aid in general. What led to the majority of Africans changing their diets?

Over 50 years of food aid targeting Africa and the resultant increased famine episodes point at a possibility of a food “malware” – a malicious system that changes people’s dietary habits in favor for imported foods. The same malware has penetrated agricultural schools that prepare graduates to promote the new foods as opposed to upgrading local varieties. The worst bit is on the political leadership – their minds have been corrupted with the quest for kickbacks to such an extent that they do not invest in local solutions. Foreign solutions come loaded with a possibility of a quick “10%;” and in the absence of a working “anti-virus” it logs its intentions on to the African nations’ operating system forcing the continent to be perpetual beggars.

To reduce famine incidents on the continent, Africans must develop a system of detecting the “malicious background operating system” from donors that has not only denied them a chance to promote their local cuisines but has also exposed their land up for grabbing. It is time we invested in our indigenous crops, turned our rural populations into celebrated food suppliers through incentives and invested in technology to free our continent from perennial famine. Contrary to common beliefs, money is not the solution to Africa’s famine problem; food aid is not the solution either … getting rid of the “malware” is!

James Shikwati

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Avoid exposure and stay within the NOEL. I say this is far more effective than it may sound. Even small fractions of the resources spent on fresh testing of established pesticides and of discovering new ones, can yield quantum improvements in pesticide safety standards. Look at the person spraying in the link above. The guy has no eye protection, mask, or even a simple pair of gloves! It reminds me of my trainee days when we went through role-plays to understand all that is wrong with amateur pesticide application.

One of the reasons for this unending see-saw is that neither the pesticide industry nor those who seek salvation by trying to destroy it, have comprehensive data on usage and abuse at ground zero. Put your anecdote on the table, and I will follow with one of my own. We have so many people using cell phones now, and yet every illicit call can be tracked. It should
be possible to have the same diligence for pesticides, if only we stop treating the marketing of these high-tech agri and public inputs as though they were cosmetics.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I discern a number of visible differences between rural and urban health issues in India. It could be the same where you live. Dermatology departments often have long queues in agrarian health centers. It is the same with Gynecology. You might think this is because we have such a large and growing population, but villagers tell me that cancers amongst women is on the rise. Asthma and lung disorders also worry many farmers I have met and interviewed. Fortunately, obesity is less of an issue than in cities, though I cannot be certain about silent diseases such as diabetes.

Pesticide professionals know of the links between health disorders and abuse of their products. None of this vital information is in the public domain. This must be why lay people are cavalier about exposure to pesticides, while we are fastidious about safe use practices.

The pesticide industry has an essential interest in rural health and well-being. I know that responsible seed producers are particular about fair and safe work practices for farm families that manufacture their brands and research products. However, there are vast gaps between facilities and safeguards for seed producers and the agrarian population at large. Tracking this is a first step to improving matters.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Toxic contributions from all the ingredients used to formulate a pesticide are not very well-kept secrets of the pesticide industry. You can even slip in a synergist in the third world. I was quite disturbed to first discover how loosely specified many organic raw materials used in pesticides can be. Arm-chair regulators tend to be as bureaucratic as possible when you write a composition statement for them, but who checks every batch in the market place?

I see from the following link that things are changing: Weed killer kills human cells. Study intensifies debate over 'inert' ingredients (22 June, Environmental Health News)

There are enormous cost and time implications in comprehensive testing for all ingredients used in pesticide formulations. We could even take a huge step back and start investigating intermediates. I know at least one that seems to be deadlier than DDT! How can we keep this trend within manageable and reasonable limits? Using standard ingredients should be a useful first step. Staying away from fossil fuels as much as possible would be another. Do you know of new trends in this technology? It has been awhile since I had anything to do with formulation-development, and I am curious to know if we can look forward to better safety standards?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The pesticide industry needs to be pro-active on the PHI (pre-harvest interval) front in its enlightened self-interest. Regulators have facts about the chronic effects of all pesticides they allow to market. They are obliged under patent laws to keep this information out of the public domain. However, the data is never destroyed. The files gather dust, but remain available. The negligence of self-appointed tracking laboratories in sampling and professional analysis is a double edged sword. We find legal holes in reports about residues above MRLs, but are lulled in to ostrich-like vision about pesticide abuses at ground zero.

The Indian administration has started a tracking system for mangoes and grapes to ensure that they meet US and EU food safety standards. Why not extend this universally across all edible crops and for domestic consumers as well? It would amount to an unconventional departure from the conventional pesticide business model, but the resulting consumer confidence could do wonders for top and bottom lines. It should be especially attractive for generic producers, struggling to keep margins intact.

Let us 'Walk the talk' on this one as soon as you are ready.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I often hear my pesticide industry colleagues pour scorn on this kind of poorly-informed reporting. However, the grit of unpleasant truths in the account cannot be wished away.

Look closely in the attached photograph. My camcorder cannot lie about a pesticide spray at the very time of harvest. This scene is awfully common in India, and I believe it is so in many other countries as well.

The pre-harvest interval is a technical matter. Pesticide professionals should not pay less attention to its enforcement than they do to reaching sales targets and collecting dues from recalcitrant dealers.

Join me in a new pesticide safety initiative.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I am all for keeping away from parathion exposure, but a high-fat diet seems to be an inappropriate route. Your nerves may be protected from acetyl-choline system aberrations, but the extra calories and narrowed arteries will still get you.

We cannot do without test animals as yet, but the system of experiments with animals remains one of the most cruel and selfish expressions of the human mind. Scientific rigor demands that you slaughter every one including the controls. Imagine being conceived with no other life purpose except to test pesticides!

An Ethics Committee is supposed to vet and approve of all trials and experiments with animals. It appears that most of these bodies only serve to scratch backs of members. Please do everything you can to stop the non-essential torture and killing of all laboratory animals.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The Commonwealth may not be a huge centre of influence over world affairs, but the Prince is not alone in voicing the following opinion against pesticides: Prince Charles under fire from pesticides industry (20 July, FWI)

The high moral ground of food security is not appropriate for the pesticide industry. Stewardship has been mentioned in passing in the report referred to in this post, but it needs more attention. Pesticide professionals cannot ensure food and fiber supplies for all people, but only we can promote the safe and judicious use of our products. Regulations all over the world will become as unreasonable as in the territories under the thumb of Brussels, if we are not pro-active in stopping pesticide abuse.

So ignore or sneer at the Royal missive at your peril!

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I exited field sales in an environment of wasteful surplus. Everyone and his uncle had established a formulation unit. There are still are over a hundred brands for each generic pesticide. Farmers sometimes use the same active ingredient in succession because the names on packs are so similar to each other.

Stocks in excess of demand are not the only reasons for pesticides to sell in India at less than their recommended retail prices. Public sector fertilizer companies for example, force dealers in need of heavily-subsidized nitrogen to buy their pesticide brands. The interest rate charged by Indian banks is many percentage points higher than inflation. That is why dealers have to keep their inventories turning over even if it means cash losses.

Pesticide exports from India keep growing year after year. Only China can do better in this respect. Farmers from other countries would do well to shop for pesticides here - with help from their regulators of course. The Internet has begun to bring farmers from far parts of the globe in touch with each other. Some pesticide industry members must quail at the prospects of the movement suggested at the following link, but generic producers can use it for advantage.
Cereals 2009 relaunch for Inputs Price Monitor (9 June, FWI Blogs)

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Time has proved him right. His logic and realism must have saved the company many blushes and losses. All of my tribe were steadily converted to John's style of professional pesticide management.

Pesticide stewardship is like eating nails. It is tempting to be diplomatic,and the bad news can kill the messenger. The editor may find holes in that analogy, but you get my drift.

Firm but polite wins the day. You cannot win over an unethical or unprofessional bunch, but it is worth staying the course. I tried to think of what I might say as the COO of Syngenta at a forum with the Russian top brass present. Try that fantasy for yourself, and then read this timeless piece: Syngenta Says World Food Crisis Not Over (8 June, FlexNews)

Dr. Satya Banerji

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The recent news that organic foods have no extra health benefits (Organic ‘has no health benefits’ 29 July, BBC News) points at the possibility of famine generated by food ideological debate. Peasant farmers (an estimated 75% of population) in sub Sahara Africa with no access to fertilizer or improved farm seeds, basically engage in organic farming. You can guess the confusion to farmers when food production turns ideological: for or against science? Now Europe wants to go organic having tried all things science, Africa wants to try science having remained hungry in all things organic.

In the dress analogy, science might dictate that a “civilized” African abandons suits for some other form of dress that can keep one cool in the hot tropical climate. It is estimated that African peasants live on less than a dollar a day – read - they generate less than $750 million in economic activity per day. Most likely, they rely on the other 250 million urban populations to keep the continent’s GDP alive. To feed the hungry, one would conclude that we need science to upscale productivity. That is where stewardship comes in to ensure safety for all.

James Shikwati

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The recent news that organic foods have no extra health benefits (Organic ‘has no health benefits’) points at the possibility of famine generated by food ideological debate. Peasant farmers (an estimated 75% of population) in sub Sahara Africa) with no access to fertilizer, improved farm seeds basically engage in organic farming. You can guess the confusion to farmers when food production turns ideological: for or against science. Now Europe wants to go organic having tried all things science, Africa wants to try science having remained hungry in all things organic.

As in the dress ideology, science might dictate that a “civilized” African abandons suits for some other form of dress that can keep one cool in the hot tropical climate. It is estimated that African peasants live on less than a dollar a day – read - they generate less than $750 million in economic activity per day. Most likely, they rely on the other 250 million urban populations to keep the continent’s GDP alive. To feed the hungry, one would conclude that we need science to upscale productivity. That is where stewardship comes in to ensure safety for all.

The recent news that organic foods have no extra health benefits (Organic ‘has no health benefits’ 29 July BBC News ) points at the possibility of famine generated by food ideological debate. Peasant farmers (an estimated 75% of population) in sub Sahara Africa with no access to fertilizer or improved farm seeds, basically engage in organic farming. You can guess the confusion to farmers when food production turns ideological: for or against science? Now Europe wants to go organic having tried all things science, Africa wants to try science having remained hungry in all things organic.

As in the dress ideology, science might dictate that a “civilized” African abandons suits for some other form of dress that can keep one cool in the hot tropical climate. It is estimated that African peasants live on less than a dollar a day – read - they generate less than $750 million in economic activity per day. Most likely, they rely on the other 250 million urban population to keep the continent’s GDP alive. To feed the hungry, one would conclude that we need science to upscale productivity. That is where stewardship comes in to ensure safety for all.

James Shikwati

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Entertainment and information have disproportionate shares in the application of electronic and satellite technologies. Nearly everyone has a cell phone so why can we not use RFID to keep track of every pesticide pack? Monitoring is the most important step we can take towards pesticide safety. The industry should provide for this essential service if public bodies will not pay.

Pesticide corporations have options of paying for tracking by raising selling prices, by reducing low-productivity operating costs or by slimming bottom lines. The stewardship and safety benefits will be nearly immediate and certainly significant. You do not have to start with RFID; simple adjustments to an ERP system will do.

Secrecy is another aspect to review. Large and professional managed pesticide companies surely keep track of their brands. Most now use computers for logistics. The convention of keeping business data strictly confidential needs a re-think. There are huge safety benefits in keeping pesticide tracking in the public domain. It will help to contain the effects of accidents and disasters as well.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Operator safety is not exclusively a small-farmer issue. The report: Pesticides - Operator safety is paramount (19 May, alphagalieleo.org) proves that even large and mechanized farms pose serious risks to pesticide operators.

I know that the pesticide industry spends considerable resources in promoting operator safety. Industry associations principally engage in arranging pesticide safety meetings for farmers, sellers, and rural doctors. However, essential aids such as protective clothing are not integrated in to supply chains. It is not uncommon to even pack leaflets, which are legal parts of labels, separately from pesticide packs. That is partly why so many cases of acute poisoning come to rural hospitals without vital antidote information.

Regular medical check-ups for spray operators with universal health insurance are two other steps for the pesticide industry to consider. I believe that it will result in massive market expansion because safe use will become a reality.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I think it is time for a new dialog between stakeholders in the pest management business. There are a number of assumptions and misconceptions on all sides that need to come out from the recesses of our minds.

Let us start with the things that we pesticide professionals can change. I vote for PHI extensions so that edible stuff has no detectable pesticide residue. Let us couple this with the restoration of all contaminated soil and water. We can start with tomatoes and green peppers that we put in salads without cooking them.

The other major step would be to take communities near pesticide factories in to confidence on safety and emergency containment measures. Not one person would have died that fateful night in Bhopal if only the erstwhile Union Carbide had told people living along their boundary walls how to act in the event of a phosgene leak (just stay in one place and breathe through a wet towel). All pesticide manufacturers undertake sophisticated risk management exercises - why is it all so secret?

Fears about synergistic effects need to be put in perspective. Yes, illegal tank mixes deserve every censure, but registered combination pesticides undergo rigorous safety tests. We would only waste precious water by forcing farmers to spray their ingredients separately.

I can keep up this rant. However, the central point is that the poles for and against pesticides keep getting more and more ridiculous over time, and help no one.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Hindustan Insecticides Limited is much more than one of the units at Eloor. It is owned by the Central Government of India. It should be a show-piece of how pesticides can be made. What can we expect of private entrepreneurs if the head regulator behaves this way? It was government negligence that caused aerial spraying in this part of the world to expose poor folk to pesticide abuse. Again, it was in kerala that ethyl parathion killed children many years ago in a river-transport accident. When will the government learn? Governments of many ideologies have been voted to power in this State, which is one of the most literate in India. The widespread abuse of the environment continues in Eloor regardless.

Effluent treatment is easy to practice if you have the will. India has stringent laws for BOD and COD limits. Eloor proves a widely-held suspicion that State Pollution Control Boards are deplorably ineffective. The consequences of exposing a hapless community to a daily barrage of pesticide and other toxic fumes and residues are staggering. The most rudimentary health records can establish the public costs of allowing untreated chemical effluent discharge.

The pesticide industry must self-regulate. Endosulfan is a concrete case of a useful and economical pesticide becoming the whipping-boy for a somnolent administration. Research-based corporations protect their patents with state-of-the-art pollution controls. The Syngenta plant in India is in the idyllic vacation destination of Goa. No beach is spoiled by the production of pesticides there. We need the same diligence where generic pesticides are made.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Water in the canals of North India originates in the mountain ranges of the Himalayas. It is pure and clean as it enters the plains -look at the photograph. It is an ongoing tragedy that this kind of natural treasure is so abused by agrarian communities. Everyone uses canal water with the abandon of utter negligence.

Pesticide application in North India adds hugely to the pollution of canal water. Spray operators wash application equipment in the very streams that women and children use for bathing and washing. It is incredibly galling to think that innocent people can be poisoned this way by others way upstream of where they live. Farmers are known to fight over canal water distribution, but no one seems to know enough to care about pesticide residues in the water their families have to use.

Here is an example of the results of such abuse: Pesticides found in mother’s milk (5 June, Times of India)

It is not easy to sequester and treat water with pesticide residues. Certainly, individual farmers lack the capital and technology to try it alone. It is a good business opportunity for pesticide companies, especially the ones that do not have patents.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Small land holdings characterize poor nations. Though the Soviet model of collective farming failed, India has enforced the break-up of large and inherited agricultural lands. The democratic and individual benefits of small land-holdings are not to be denied, but the structure does not lead to optimal pest management. Neighboring farmers do not coordinate their sprays. Local self-government bodies have no statutory powers to stop members from spraying whenever they like.

The pesticide industry has a significant role in this unsatisfactory state of affairs. Marketing budgets are blown away in making exaggerated product claims and misplaced branding efforts. That is why I was pleased to see that Syngenta has made the move reported here: New online forecasting system helps growers tackle bruchid beetle attacks (5 June, Horticulture Week)

My only beef with this is that Syngenta should extend the system to countries other than the UK. The field is open for other corporations as well. It is an excellent way to brand pesticides.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Early this year, I participated in a European Landowners’ Organization workshop where one of the panelists cited a team study in 1997 that indicated ecosystem services to human economic activities amount to $US 33 Trillion ( Earth trends: Featured Topic| Valuing Ecosystem Services). In the context of the workshop, the discussion was on how to compensate farmers whose activities amount to a “public good” such as cleaner environment in rural areas, offering bees flowers to suck nectar among others.   The discussion on whether no till farming contributes to more carbon storage in the soil or not is a subject I would wish to pursue. This might just be another value addition to crop farming activity.

The interconnectedness of human economic activities with climate change illuminates the importance of stewardship more than ever. If it’s proven that no tillage farming indeed helps in checking carbon emissions, then use of technology to affect such an approach to farming will be of increased value!

James Shikwati

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Early this year, I participated in a European Landowners’ Organization workshop where one of the panelists cited a team study in 1997 that indicated ecosystem services to human economic activities amount to $US 33 Trillion ( Earth trends: Featured Topic| Valuing Ecosystem Services). In the context of the workshop, the discussion was on how to compensate farmers whose activities amount to a “public good,” such as cleaner environment in rural areas, offering bees flowers to suck nectar among others.   The discussion on whether no till farming contributes to more carbon storage in the soil or not is a subject I would wish to pursue. This might just be another value addition to crop farming activity.

The interconnectedness of human economic activities with climate change illuminates the importance of stewardship more than ever. If it’s proven that no tillage farming indeed helps in checking carbon emissions, then use of technology to affect such an approach to farming will be of increased value!

I have tried to figure out how I have escaped the risks of exposure. I have worked for decades with acutely-toxic pesticides. Is it just a matter of providence? I must thank the people under whom I started my career, for I could never have absorbed the skills of safe pesticide application without their diligent and persistent help.

Pesticide safety is not a rocket science. Many of the practices seem to be common sense once you have formed the right habits. It would appear that low acute toxicity lulls people in to complacency. Staying away from pesticides
that stink as much as Phorate or Thiometon should come naturally to the most macho of us.

I think that annual checks on pesticide residues in the bodies of operators and village communities should go the distance to making everyone cautious about lethal exposures. It is a pity that diagnostic facilities are not commonplace. I guess they must be expensive as well.

Effective communication about safe use practices is an optimal solution. Sellers, like the one in the picture, are the most reliable change agents, for what better time can there be to warn users, other than at the time of purchase?  Mr. Shrivastava in the photograph used to work in the pesticide industry, and now retails them after retirement. How about that for squeezing out every drop of safety information when farmers shop for pesticides?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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India has a system of roving crop surveys. They are perfunctory, bureaucratic, and horribly dated. You can make almost any claim of crop losses to pests, but will they stand up to scrutiny? Could this be a matter of weakening an otherwise good case?

There is also the matter of social accounting? What are the human and environmental costs of using pesticides? Does this industry help with controlling harmful CO2 emissions? These are obviously nasty questions, but the pesticide lobby stands to gain by addressing them before others ask.

I prefer that taxes and levies on pesticides are used to promote safe use, rather than that they merely become nominally cheaper. We can expand market demand by making protective gear widely available, and by providing effluent treatment facilities in all cropped areas.  Market expansion is a legitimate and universal desire, but the nature of the pesticide business demands that this goal is approached through stewardship.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Since I live in Mumbai, I have been in the thick of terrorist strikes, floods, riots, and other emergencies. My most prominent recollection is of telephone lines being jammed. That can happen to Internet servers as well, but a Twitter facility would be welcome when we need help.

Names of antidotes are uncommon. It is easy to get them wrong or to misunderstand the dose protocol through verbal communication. Writing it all out makes sense. This is a big plus on Twitter. Doctors use English even in areas with other tongues, so it is important to have them on a Twitter network.  I guess Twitter will work in other scripts over time in any case.

Twitter needs regular rehearsals to work effectively in matters of pesticide safety. I have maintained an emergency service on my cellular handset for about a year now. It is frustrating to find a caller without a leaflet or label at hand, to say nothing of basic containment equipment and treatment aids.

Please join the Twitter network. Let me know if you form another network, and I will join. You can reach me 24*7 on 919819806572, apart from through this forum.

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It is an 'us versus them' thing. We cannot have new pesticides without force-feeding them to hapless animals-statistically significant numbers at that.  Then there are the activists. They dream up new tests for age-old pesticides everyday. Committees are supposed to vet all test proposals from an ethical standpoint. Is the animal sacrifice justified? Will people benefit from the results of the trial? Will the hypothesis to be tested lead to a practice that we can follow?  What are your answers to such questions for the ridiculous findings below?

Consumption of a High-Fat Diet in Adulthood Ameliorates the Effects of Neonatal Parathion Exposure on Acetylcholine Systems in Rat Brain Regions (June 2009, Environmental Health Perspectives)

This is an economic issue apart from a humanitarian one. Corporations that are forced to invest scarce resources in testing pesticides that have been around for years, do so by diluting attention on extension work and research in to safer ways of managing pests.

Very few people have seen the engine rooms of toxicology centers. Those of us who know what happens in these dungeons must do more to restrict animal testing to the essentials.

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Take a look at what happens in Vietnam: Illegal plant protection chemicals a health threat: officials (2 June, thanhniennews.com)

I have never met a farmer who would willingly buy a spurious pesticide. However, who can blame them for looking for bargains, or for trying to reduce their costs of cultivation? This is not exclusively a third world issue: I have seen Swiss residents who live on the border with France doing the same thing on their shopping days.

There is a lot to be said for transnational cooperation in pest management matters. I recall how locust swarms kept devastating Indian fields at regular intervals until the two unfortunately adversarial governments dropped their gauntlets and worked as a unit to keep the swarms at bay.

I have not been to China as yet, but have pesticide professionals as friends there. I have worked in the Hanoi region, and guess that Vietnam can only benefit by leaning on their larger neighbors for plant protection. I know the farming community of Vietnam well and am certain that they will eagerly accept all the technical help they can get. They will shun all illicit supply sources if only they have the right opportunities.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I am amazed by our collective negligence. I can understand sales people being somewhat poorly informed about transport and storage dangers. You have to be part of a pesticide accident to understand the enormous, lasting, and grave implications. Hopefully, you will retire without ever seeing a pesticide fire. However, organizations headed by manufacturing folk have no excuses.

"I feel as though I am in a garden". This is a true statement by Mr. Shyam Suri, who used to be a Joint Secretary in the Indian Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, on visiting the sole Sandoz India factory of the early 1980s. We made deadly pesticides,life-saving drugs, and dyes for textiles, all cheek by jowl. We had Bayer for company next door. The industrial area smelled better than the host town of Thane. Every drop of discharge was tested on fish in tanks before discharge. No year passed without rigorous process reviews, new safety standards, and full dress rehearsals of what to do in an emergency.

I know that every reputed pesticide factory follows the same stringent standards that distinguished Sandoz. It is our collective responsibility to take every step to prevent adverse incidents, and to respond to them comprehensively and in time. It is not a matter for factories alone, but something for all transporters, sellers, and users to follow.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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I define development as the ability to interpret/understand the World and creatively/efficiently respond to the challenges that confront humanity in order to increase the levels of human comfort on earth.

Population pressure cannot permit farmers to keep moving on to new grounds. That calls for clear understanding of the world in order to increase yields. While in Zambia, I met farmers practicing minimum tillage techniques meant to save soils, water and cut down on competition with weeds.

It is welcome news to note that the Group of 8 nations that command an estimated 65% of worlds’ productivity has pledged to place agriculture and food security at the core of international agenda (Agriculture and Food Security at the core of the International Agenda). Farmers should avoid the trap of simply seeking to import crop menus from each other without considering the strategic importance of using technology to upscale their indigenous food productivity. Rich variety will increase food security.

James Shikwati

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I define development as the ability to interpret/understand the World and creatively/efficiently respond to the challenges that confront humanity in order to increase the levels of human comfort on earth.

Population pressure cannot permit farmers to keep moving on to new grounds. That calls for clear understanding of the world in order to increase yields. While in Zambia, I met farmers practicing minimum tillage techniques meant to save soils, water and cut down on competition with weeds.

It is welcome news to note that the (Agriculture and Food Security at the core of the International Agenda) Group of 8 nations that command an estimated 65% of worlds’ productivity has pledged to place agriculture and food security at the core of international agenda. Farmers should avoid the trap of simply seeking to import crop menus from each other without considering the strategic importance of using technology to upscale their indigenous food productivity. Rich variety will increase food security.

The matter does not involve a pesticide. Nevertheless, there are significant lessons for all of us in this trade. Firstly, there is the principle of professional accountability. Note how the polluting company has only been fined, while individual employees have been sentenced to serve prison terms. It is also a relief to read that the defendants have an option to appeal. So much for the propaganda about deficiencies in the Chinese justice system!

The heinous practice of cleaning pesticide application equipment in canals, rivers, and ponds, is a scandal that each of us must try and stop at the earliest. I tried to persuade in this farmer in this respect. I must return to that farm soon to find out whether I succeeded.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Organisations of farmers and pesticide industry bodies have made strenuous attempts, outside of the Internet, to fight the new EU regulations for pesticides. Since corporations have not bothered to record their opinions at the pesticide information web site linked above, it appears that their public relations people do not consider the medium to be important.

The aftermath of the June 2009 elections in Iran proved that the World Wide Web has become a communication tool of influence. It is the medium of choice for ordinary folks to link with each other across national frontiers. You may support or oppose the EU stand on pesticides: your opinion matters either way.

Pesticides may never have been invented had the Irish potato famine not occurred. We can say the same for copper pipes used for irrigating French vineyards in the last century. We take food and fibre security for granted, but world trends indicate that the grain pendulum can swing the other way in a flash.

Legislation is never cast in stone. We are fortunate that the European Commission is not controlled by any Monarch of despot. It is worth being heard.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Check with your industry friends: the vast majority would not have even come across this insidious report. There is little you can do about it because clever disclaimers have been woven in to the allegations against pesticides. The good scientists admit that more work needs to be done to validate their hypotheses, but they proclaim them anyway.

Pesticides, including candidate ones, are subject to an exhaustive battery of safety tests. It is tougher to get regulatory clearances to market a pesticide than it is to hock a new vaccine for swine flu! Media types are more concerned about their health than about pest outbreaks in fields they will never see. We pesticide types really have it stacked up against us!

Let us not take it lying down. I vote for greater transparency about pesticide development and stewardship processes. People at large need to know more about how unacceptable risks to life and the environment are avoided. The whole proprietary knowledge issue has become a hurdle for the oligopoly that owns it. Perhaps the generic pesticide lobby can lend a helping hand. However, spreading awareness about pesticide stewardship should be a matter for concerted action, and not a line of divide between industry poles.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Quality always matters. Farmers deserve nothing less than the best. A sub-standard pesticide may contain degradation products and impurities that are even more toxic than the active ingredient. Hence, quality has important safety connotations in the world of pesticides. How can we ensure consistent and reliable quality in all pesticide supplies?

I feel that regulators should test all pesticide batches at the gates of manufacturers. Resources expended in collecting taxes on pesticide production would serve the public interest better, if used for quality assurance. The government and large corporate buyers exert such controls, so it should be easy to extend the systems for the benefits of poor farmers.

Packaging and storage conditions also need more attention. The pesticide involved in the quality failures reported at the link above has very low vapor pressure. You can smell phorate in any warehouse right away. This is a certain sign of gradual active ingredient loss. There are serious inhalation toxicity issues involved as well. Many retailers sell granular pesticides in repacked form. This is to leverage handsome discounts offered for buying large packs. Granular pesticides are often displayed in open and exposed form at retail points. These should be focus areas of regulators.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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A cornerstone of stewardship is to be conservative in communication. Pesticide marketing differs from that for perfume in that we avoid exaggeration, even erring on the side of most abundant caution.

I recall some of my most humbling professional experiences being related to reprimands from my Gurus for drafting copy about Ekalux (Quinalphos) and yield assurances. That is why I am especially sorry to come across this ridiculous and unprofessional link Rice Calculator (2009, Syngenta Farm Assist) from a successor organization of my former employers:

I appeal to all pesticide industry professionals to desist from misleading communication. Perhaps this happens because we let some advertising types hijack the entire communication effort. It is not as though truthful communication is entirely altruistic: brands and businesses are built on decades of trust. They  can shatter beyond repair after just one misguided campaign.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Farmers are a pampered constituency in most nations, regardless of the state of economic development. Even the healthy need to eat and to wear clothes, so agricultural production is supported at nearly any cost. Profits from crop cultivation are not taxed in India and polluting fertilizers are available with exorbitant subsidies. Farming as a vocation receives generous financial support in countries as rich as Switzerland.

Farmers do not make it to business class on any airline. Neither do they have flashy cars, designer homes, or any of the other trappings of the rich and famous in cities and suburbia. Pesticides are not subsidized. Very small amounts are distributed by governments, and that too, only during epidemics. Public health remains in the government domain but small growers have to fend for themselves when it comes to protecting their fields from pests.

The pesticide industry is unique because we are so much better off than the farmers we are supposed to serve. The whole R&D argument is over-done considering that synthetic pyrethroids were invented by a private trust that never worked for profits. I think that it is inappropriate for pesticides to follow the pharmaceutical tradition when it comes to patents and pricing. That is why I feel that the litigation reported in the article DuPont sues BASF over herbicide patents (1 June, marketwatch.com) unhelpful for the global constituency of farmers

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Safety is not a chance event. It requires consistent and disciplined implementation of professional systems. Pesticide stewards do precisely this. Machinery and fertilizers suppliers are often guilty of ignoring safety and pollution aspects altogether. Rehearsal and documentation facilitate safety, but they are almost universally ignored. That is why the report: Focus on employees (no date, agriculture.com) is worth making in to a permanent reference.

Can you make money out of safety? Skepticism of this nature must be behind our reticence in making farm operations free of avoidable risks. The truth is that better safety standards provide vital infrastructure for industry growth. Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School wrote in the 1990s about how better environment conservation standards could lead to competitive advantage. His concepts are most relevant for the global agri-inputs business, as it struggles to protect margins and sales volumes.

Write to me at this forum if you would like to leverage workplace safety projects to cement your business share in the world of agriculture.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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"Gatenby: How people treat invasive species can provide an analogy for thinking about cancer therapy. In treating a field for a pest, for example, you might treat three-quarters of it with a pesticide, and leave the other quarter untreated. Pesticide-sensitive pests remain there, and they spread out into the field after treatment, preventing pesticide resistance from becoming dominant.

Using pesticides on an entire field is like what we’re doing with cancer now. And we all agree that we’d rather get rid of the pests altogether, but if you can’t do it, if every time you have an infestation you treat it and get resistance, then you try a different strategy. The alternative is to try to reduce the pest population so that it doesn’t damage your crop, and accept the fact that they’re going to be there. That’s what I’m talking about with cancer"

I am sure that the good doctor interviewed by the web site must be an authority on oncology. However, leaving a part of a pest-infested field untreated is not a good idea. Farmers do play around with recommended pesticide dosages, but this exacerbates resistance, rather than amelioration in any form.

Pest resistance is a big issue with short life-cycles. Rotating chemical groups and consistent use of biological control are keys to maintaining high levels of pest susceptibility to conventional pesticides.

Some pests tend to build resistance faster than others. I have found Hemiptera toughest to manage because the grubs hide where pesticides cannot reach, while the adults fly to plants and fields that have not been sprayed.

What about you? Do write and share your resistance-management stories.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Our purpose at this forum is pesticide safety not politics. Hence, we have to orient thinking and responses to the environmental effects of pest management in agriculture by considering positions taken by activists. Agriculture is inherently disruptive of a natural eco-system. It can result in greater pollution than the effluent from a factory. Indeed, most countries are better placed to regulate the polluting effects of industries than of small farms.

Soil and water contamination are serious consequences of farming. It is not as though farmers kill their earthworms intentionally, or spew pesticides and nitrates in to public water bodies out of any considered choice. It is just that restoration of natural resources to their pristine states requires both technology and capital. Individual farmers cannot have their own flocculation and treatment ponds, but no village that uses pesticides and other chemicals should be without such facilities. Lawyers and others with pangs of social conscience should reflect on whether farms or factories should be their first targets for conservation.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Thrips are notorious for causing damage entirely disproportionate to their tiny dimensions. Nature has given them mouth-parts sharp enough to scrape off the toughest leaf or fruit surface.

Bt is not effective against thrips, so these slender beings take full advantage of caterpillars disappearing in transgenic crops. Farmers growing Bt cotton in India for example, despair of controlling thrips effectively and economically.

Systemic insecticides have become popular in the engineered battle against thrips. Designed for seed dressing, major pesticide corporations now promote their inventions for foliar applications. Europe has banned their use during flowering to protect pollinators, but poorly-regulated countries continue to use neonicotinoids right up to harvest.

Predators are best for management of chronic attacks by thrips. Chrysoperla for instance, has no qualms about feeding in hidden places that pesticide spray droplets cannot reach. Predators also beat pesticides in scarce water management: a single pesticide application can drink a thousand liters of clean water per hectare. Significantly, thrips like dry conditions and flare-up at the same time as water shortages in villages.

Do you encounter thrips? What is your favoured management approach? Do write and let me know.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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For a continent that relies on white maize for its staple food; crop failure in such a sector translates not only to famine but could also lead to political instability. Industry players therefore ought not to dismiss critics who urge caution on use of technology, especially, on genetically modified seeds because indeed threats of malfunction may actually occur and plunge nations, and sub continents into food crisis. The best option is to address such fears, and transparently offer a way forward.

The great lesson one gathers from the seed failure in South Africa is the importance of product traceability. The responsible company was able to compensate farmers and even provide a scientific reason for the failure. To improve crop farming in poor countries, science is critical to offer explanations on ways of increasing yields while at the same time giving reasons as to why farmers find it difficult to feed citizens in their jurisdictions.

James Shikwati

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Any chemical agent that kills or repels a pest may be harmful. It is not in the public interest to discriminate in favor of organic molecules. Indeed, many molecules made in laboratories can be potent at lower doses and more labile as well, compared to their natural peers. It is also feasible to invent pesticides that work on physiological aspects that are unique to arthropods.

Predators and parasites beat organic pesticides hands down. You can use them during harvest, for they leave no nasty residues inside produce. They are more deserving than herbal extracts for the label 'biological pesticide'. I recall from my past Hanoi visit that the capital of Vietnam does have a rearing facility for egg parasites. I hope, for the sake of the country's consumers, that the authoroties put Trichogramma to work.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Generic pesticides are sold in India considerably below their labelled retail prices. It is reasonable to conclude that manufacturers are not short of profit margins. The global pesticide industry also stands apart from their kin in the financial and automotive sectors: we do not read of their bankruptcies or even lesser failures.

The average customer of the pesticide industry wallows in contrasting despair. Consider the plight of Shri (Mr) Dattatray Harne of Changyacha Pada in Shahapur, on the outskirts of the plush metropolis of Mumbai in India, in the attached photograph.  Consider how difficult vegetable cultivation must be in semi-arid conditions. Observe how farmers have no medical leave. Reflect on how Shri Dattatray's wife Hirabhai toils without any remuneration in the background. I can send you a recording of an interview with this couple. It is in Marathi. I can provide a translation in any other language.

This hapless couple are significant pesticide users.

Does the pesticide industry deserve any further fiscal help in advance of the customers they serve?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Jamaica is, unfortunately, not alone in bringing children by harm's way through pesticides. The radio and administrators deserve our compliments for their transparency and diligent record-keeping.

Attacks on the pesticide industry force it to indulge in expensive and very academic studies, at the cost of vital extension work. There is hardly a month when we do not find a new report on the Internet, alleging a possible link between a pesticide and a disease.

Countless laboratory animals are tortured and slaughtered to establish the toxicological profile of every pesticide active ingredient. It is cruel and wasteful to reinvent such wheels. Moreover, industry resources deployed for irrelevant product defence take away scarce money required to promote the safe and judicious use of pesticides.

We do not need to know more about the harm that results from pesticide abuse. We should just buckle up and save children from the kinds of effects that Jamaica has experienced.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Religion may divide the region, but aridity respects no political divides. Even Israel's enemies and most trenchant critics will not deny that the nation has unique abilities to make so much from sand and drops of water.

Consider pesticide safety in the larger context of agriculture. Regulation in other ecologies may not be appropriate for the UAE. Clearly, Israel has much to offer in this regard. Abu Dhabi is just right for a start, for it is known for a liberal and pragmatic attitude.

Every pesticide safety initiative deserves support. I hope that the UAE will choose an appropriate model to set their pest management house in order.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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Soil is the most valuable asset a farmer can own. It has an integral ecology. Most of us are not conscious of the productive nature of soil, and even look askance at it on occasion. Soil may also harbour very destructive pests. Pupae and spores can survive in soil indefinitely. Some forms of mono-cropping are not possible without pest management of soil. The dimensions are such that fumigation may be the only answer in some cases.

Earthworms are the most loved and famous of all beneficial soil organisms but they are not alone. Many natural fungi are adept at protecting root systems from attacks by pathogens. Bacteria and algae are highly effective digesters of pesticide residues, and can adapt quickly to all kinds of environmental challenges. Pest management of soil is just as important as providing nutrients for crops through this medium. That is why I welcome renewed efforts, such as this: Stronger rules on pesticides in soil (28 May edie.net ), to regulate pest management of soil for the benefits of all stakeholders. 

Dr. Satya Banerji

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It appears that big is bad in business. The notion of avarice and malpractices by international corporations gains currency by the day. We love to hate the executives who draw fat paychecks even as their enterprises go under. Should this extend to pesticide safety?

Drift, contamination, and residues are much easier for organized farming to manage than for an individual cultivator on a small cabbage patch. Consider how well large pesticide factories treat their effluents. The LD50 has no pity for a poor farmer either: toxicity will hit all farms equally,regardless of size.

Reverse migration from cities to villages is a related and a serious matter. Safe pesticide application is a skill. Poisoning and adverse incidents are probable if people without training buy and use pesticides.

A cooperative structure may be best for pesticide safety in agriculture. It provides for all the benefits of scale, while protecting the interests of individual members. Successful cooperatives can also engage professionals, whether as employees or as consultants.

Collective farming has failed in the erstwhile Soviet Union, but there could be merits in the system as far as pesticide safety is concerned. Significantly, beneficial insects were most prominent in Soviet pest management. Ideology apart, all of us can come together on a common platform of promoting the safe and judicious use of pesticides without any discrimination.

Dr. Satya Banerji

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In a recent KPMG SIFE Kenya business breakfast forum in Nairobi, Lord Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick, (Commander of British Empire) and Global Head of Corporate Citizenship and Diversity KPMG International inquired from the audience whether one can give what they do not have. He pointed out that although Western capitalism model may have broken its back, the fundamentals of one must produce in order to give, still remain.

Third world country small holder farmers especially in Africa reportedly loose an estimated 20 - 100% of their crop production to weeds. The same groups of farmers, who comprise close to 75% of Sub Sahara Africa’s population, spend almost 80% of their farming time battling weeds! Clearly, farmers cannot give what they do not have! Are weed control industries listening?

James Shikwati

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Women are important in Indian agriculture as well, but you do not normally find them dealing with pesticides. Retailers in Vietnam, on the other hand, are often women. They spend many hours every day inhaling obnoxious fumes from the products on their shelves. I have not seen women farmers actually spraying pesticides in the field, but the report at the following link shows that I am out of touch with ground realities: Women farmers face high pesticide risks (26 May, Viet Nam News).

How should women manage pests? Any direct contacts with chemical pesticides must be ruled out. What if there are not enough young men around to carry out spraying chores? Beneficial insects are effective solutions, but they are not adequate to deal with sudden outbreaks.

Do you have an answer?

Dr. Satya Banerji

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