Abstract
India is among the largest agricultural societies in the world as the agricultural sector provides livelihood to the majority of its one billion people. Modern agriculture use inputs such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides, seeds of high yielding varieties and mechanization that aided in increased yields ushering an era of green revolution in the country. Synthetic pesticides are one of the major agro-inputs that significantly contributed to the agricultural production in the country. These chemicals have become an inevitable input and constitute an integral part of modern crop-management practices. Pesticides may have helped in enhancing agricultural production, but at the same time these chemicals have caused adverse effects. This paper discusses the economic and ecological implications of pesticide use in India.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agarwal, S.B. 1993. A clinical, biochemical, neurobehavioural and socio psychological study of 190 patients admitted to hospital as a result of acute organophosphorus poisoning. Environmental research 62:63.
Agnihotri, N.P., Walia, S. and Gajbhije, V.T. (eds) 1999. Green Pesticide Crop Protection and Safety Evaluation. Society of Pesticide Science, New Delhi.
Anonymous 2002. State of IPM in India, Integrated Pest Management Programme for Cotton in Asia. GCP/RAS/164/EC, FAO Report, September 2002.
Bambawale, O.M., Singh, A., Sharma, O.P., Bhosle, B.B., Lavekar, R.C., Dhandapani, A., Kanwar, V., Tanwar, R.K., Rathod, K.S., Patange, N.R. and Pawar, V.M. 2004. Performance of Bt cotton (MECH-162) under integrated pest management in farmers’ participatory field trial in Nanded district, Central India. Current Science 86(12): 1628–1633.
Chelliah, S. 1979. Insecticide Application and Brown Plant Hopper Resurgence in Rice. A report of research conducted from July 8, 1977 to July 7, 1979, Department of Entomology, IRRI, Los Bonos, Phillipines.
Conway, G.R. and Pretty, J.N. 1991. Unwelcome Harvest: Agriculture and Pollution. Earthscan Publisher, London.
Dewan, A. and Saiyed, H.N. 1998. Acute poisonings due to agricultural pesticides reported to the NIOH Poison Information Centre. In: Proceedings of the WHO Workshop on Occupational Health Problems in Agriculture Sector. Parikh, J.R., Gokani, V.N., Doctor, P.B., Gandhi, D.N. and Saiyed, H.N. (eds), National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad, p. 136.
Dhaliwal, G.S. and Arora, R. 1994. Trends in Agricultural Insect Pest Management. Commonwealth Publishers, New Delhi.
Dhawan, A.K. 1999. IPM in cotton, insecticidal mixtures led the way. Pesticides World. January–February, pp. 52–54.
Dinham, B. 1996. The success of a voluntary code in reducing pesticide hazards in developing countries. Green Globe Yearbook. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 29–36.
Dudani, A.T. 1999. Alternatives to Pesticides in Tropical Countries – Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security with Food Safety. Vigyan Prasar, New Delhi.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2007. 2000–2001 Pesticide Market Estimates: Usage, Retrieved on 5 August 2007 from http://www.epa.gov
Fleischer, G. 2004. Economic evaluation of costs and benefits of pesticide use – the case for action to reduce pesticides, In: Proceedings of the PAN-Europe Conference, 15 November 2004, Barcelona, Spain.
Forget, G. 1993. Balancing the need for pesticides with the risk to human health. In: Impact of Pesticide Use on Health in Developing Countries. Forget, G., Goodman, T. and de Villiers, A. (eds), IDRC, Ottawa, p. 2.
Fishel, F.M. 2007. Pesticide Use Trends in the U.S.: Global Comparison. Retrieved on 5 August 2007 from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PI180
Hayes, W.J. Jr. and Laws, E.R. Jr., 1991. Classes of pesticides. In: Handbook of Pesticide Toxicology, (Vol. 2). Hayes, W.J. Jr. and Laws, E.R. Jr., (eds), Academic Press Inc., San Diego, p. 771.
Horrigan, L., Lawrence, R.S. and Walker, P. 2002. How sustainable agriculture can address the environmental and human health harms of industrial agriculture. Environ Health Perspect 110: 445–456.
Igbedioh, S.O. 1991. Effects of agricultural pesticides on humans, animals and higher plants in developing countries. Arch Environ Health 46: 218.
Indian Council of Medical Research. 2001. Bulletin 31(9) ICMR, New Delhi.
Institute of Integrated Rural Development. 2001. The Road to Solidarity, Unpublished summary of the First National Organic Conference, Bidkin, Aurangabad, India, IIRD.
Jeyaratnam, J. 1985. Health problems of pesticide usage in the third world. BMJ 42:505.
Jeyaratnam, J. 1990. Acute pesticide poisoning: A major problem. World Health Statistics Quarterly 43: 139–144.
Jensen, A.A. 1983. Chemical contaminants in human milk. Residue Reviews 89:1.
Joint Parliamentary Committee Report. 2004. Pesticides and good agriculture practices In: Report of Joint Parliamentary Committee on Pesticide Residues in and Safety Standards for Soft Drinks, Fruit Juice and Other Beverages, Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi, pp. 98–123.
Kranthi. K.R. 2004. Insecticide Resistance Management Based Cotton IPM – A Success Story. Published by Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur, pp. 1–19.
Landes, M. and Govindan, A. 2004. Indian Agriculture: Status and Reform Potential. GAIN Report Number: IN4089, Retrieved on 30 May 2007 from http:// www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200408/146107265.pdf
Mehrotra, K.N. 1992. Pesticide resistance in insect pests. In: Pest Management and Pesticides: Indian Scenario. David, B.V. (eds), Namratha Publications, Chennai, pp.17–27.
Punjabilok. Impact of Pesticides on Health: A Critical and In-Depth Scientific Analysis, Retrieved on 30 May 2007 from http://www.punjabilok.com/agriculture/medicos\_workshop.htm
Pesticide Action Network. 1998a. Pesticide Procurement. Pest Management Notes No. 7, Retrieved on 30 May 2007 from http://www.pan-uk.org/Internat/IPMinDC/pmn7.pdf
Pesticide Action Network. 1998b. Integrated Pest Management. Pest Management Notes No. 2, Retrieved on 30 May 2007 from http://pan-uk.org/Internat/IPMinDC/pmn2.pdf
Pimentel, D., Acquay, H., Biltonen, M., Rice, P., Silva, M., Nelson, J., Lipner, V., Giordano, S., Horowitz, A. and D’Amore, M. 1993. Assessment of environmental and economic impacts of pesticide use. In: The Pesticide Question-Environment, Economics, and Ethics. Pimentel, D. and Lehman, H. (eds), New York, London, pp.47–84.
Pradhan, S. 1964. Assessment of losses caused by insect pests of crops and estimation of insect population. In: Entomology in India, Entomological Society of India, New Delhi, 17–58.
Prasad, S.S. 2001. Country Report – India. Prepared for the Meeting of the Programme Advisory Committee (PAC), Ayutthaya, Thailand, November 2001. Retrieved on 30 May 2007 from www.communityipm.org/docs/PAC_2001/India\_PAC2001.pdf
Puri, S.N., Murthy, K.S. and Sharma, O.P. 1999. Pest problems in India – Current Status. Indian Journal of Plant Protection, 27(1\&2):20–31.
Raman, R., Laha, N.N. and Bhatnagar, A. 1991. Recent advances in management of aluminium phosphide poisoning. Indian Medical Gazette 125:6.
Reddy, K.V.S and Zehr, U.B. 2004. Novel Strategies for Overcoming Pests and Diseases in India. Retrieved on 31 May 2007 from http://www.cropscience.org.au/icsc2004/symposia/3/7/153\_zehrub.htm
Rola, A.C. and Pingali, P.L. 1993. Pesticides, Rice Productivity, and Farmers’ Health: An Economic Assessment. International Rice Research Institute and World Resource Institute, Los Baños, Philippines and Washington, DC.
Samuel, J., Thomas, K., Jeyaseelan, L., Peter, J.V. and Cherian, A.M. 1995. Incidence of intermediate syndrome in organophosphorus poisoning. The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 43:321.
Saraswat, P.K., Gupta, B.P., Malhotra, V.K. and Goyal, V.K. 1985. Prevalence of fatalities due to aluminium phosphide (ALP) ingestion in southern Rajasthan. Journal of Forensic Medicine 2:1.
Satavic Farms. 2006. Organic Farming in India. Retrieved on 28 May 2007 from http:// www.satavic.org/india.htm
Shailesh, K.K., Pais, P., Vengamma, B. and Muthane, U. 1994. Clinical and electrophysiological study of intermediate syndrome in patients with organophosphorus poisoning. The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 42:451.
Shetty P.K. 2003. Pesticide Stewardship and Food Security in India. http://www.npsalliance.org/Conf2003/PDF2003/PKShetty.pdf
Shetty, P.K. 2004. Plant Protection and Sustainable Agriculture in India. In the Proceedings of the 12th International Conference and Exhibition on Mechanization of Field Experiments, Saint-Petersburg (Russia), pp. 247–250.
Singh, A. and Sharma, O.P. 2004. Integrated pest management for sustainable agriculture. In: Pesticide: Environment and Food Security. Dureja, A., Saxena, D.B., Kumar, J., Gopal, M., Singh, S.B. and Tanwar, R.S. (eds), Published by Society of Pesticide Science, New Delhi, pp.102–109.
Singh, S., Dilawari, J.B., Vashisht, R., Malhotra, H.S. and Sharma, B.K. 1985. Aluminium phosphide ingestion. British Medical Journal 290:1110.
Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC) 2004. Technology for Futuristic Pesticides. Published by Technology Information, New Delhi, Retrieved on 30 May 2007 from www.tifac.org.in
World Health Organization. 1990. Public Health Impact of Pesticides Used in Agriculture. World Health Organization, WHO-UNEP, Geneva.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Shetty, P., Sabitha, M. (2009). Economic and Ecological Externalities of Pesticide Use in India. In: Peshin, R., Dhawan, A.K. (eds) Integrated Pest Management: Innovation-Development Process. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8992-3_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8992-3_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-8991-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-8992-3
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)