Growers Express Concern Over Use Of Pesticides On Food Crops

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Oct, 2019 ) :The farmers and representatives of growers' bodies have expressed deep concerns over the application of hazardous pesticides over the crops like wheat, rice, vegetable and fruits � Speaking at a workshop, organized by Swat Agro Chemical (SAC) here on Thursday, they demanded official inquiries into the sale and usage of such pesticides.

� The farmers from 9 districts of Sindh, representatives of Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, officials of Sindh Agriculture Extension and Research and other growers' bodies participated in the daylong discussion.

� The SCA's Vice President Nabi Bux Sathio said that authorized dealers should guide the farmers against using pesticides on rice, wheat, vegetable and fruits crops.�"The pesticides contain a foul smell and are harmful if consumed by the humans," he noted.

� He referred to spray of Thimet on sugarcane and cotton, pointing out that China where it was manufactured had banned that pesticide but it was being sprayed in the US.

� Sathio said if a farmer fell unconscious during spraying a pesticide than they should be given urgent medical help.�He informed that he wrote a letter to Director General�Sindh Agriculture Extension against poisonous pesticides soon after incidents that occurred in various parts of Sindh.

� He told that 4 farmers died in Lodhran, Punjab, and many growers in Sujawal, Thatta and Tando Mohammad Khan districts fell unconscious while applying the pesticides spray.

� Syed Aijaz Nabi Shah, a farmers' representative, emphasized that the Field Assistants (FA) of Sindh Agriculture Department were responsible for guiding farmers about the health hazards of the pesticides.�However, he lamented that not a single field assistant could be seen discharging their obligations in that regard.

� "The FAs should be given proper training about all the pesticides and tasked to educate the growers," he suggested.

Abdul Karim Talpur, Agha Khadim Hussain Shah, Muhammad Aslam Marri, Mohammad Khan, Karim Bux Leghari and other farmers also shared their experiences about the use of pesticides.

� The SAC's business Manager Mohammad Arif, Technical Manager Tauseef ur Rehman, Research and Development Officer Mohammad Asif delivered their joint presentations and took questions from the farmers.