As the state of Telangana has been shook by multiple cases of food adulteration and contamination, a study conducted by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences placed it in third position for using pesticides while farming. The ‘State of Agriculture’ study found in its survey that following the states of Haryana – which uses 1,100 kilos of pesticide per hectare, and Punjab – which utilises 1,250 kilos of pesticide per hectare, Telangana was concluded as being third highest with 900 kilos per hectare. Authorities who warned officials of the state, identified that the increase in pesticide use has been due to monocropping – with paddy and cotton being cultivated extensively, similar to the other two states.
Since weed management has been known to be a point of concern within the state, farmers tend to use herbicides in order to curb the rampant growth. This in turn, has affected the quality of food products, making way for health concerns amongst common citizens. Besides the ecological damage caused by these chemicals which kill healthy microbes in the soil, traces of these toxic substances tend to accumulate within the human body due to consumption over a prolonged period of time.
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Pointing out that people who tend to be on the heavier side have a tendency to fall ill due to such consumption, agricultural scientist GV Ramanjaneyulu said that despite the use of biological and organic manure, the increased use in urea due to cost as well as availability has risen. Excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides have also been known to harm the soil, decreasing its capacity for water retention and also depleting nutrients like zinc and magnesium from the soil. Although efforts to encourage farmers to use less chemical pesticides have been ongoing, there has been little success in convincing them.