KATHMANDU: The use of pesticides to kill harmful insects that spread in crops and homes has increased in Nepal.
Every year pesticides worth Rs 6 to 7 billion are imported through legal channels. There is an open border, there is no account of how much pesticides are coming in illegally. These pesticides are bought and sold indiscriminately in villages and cities.
There is no record of purchase and sale. The government has made law now. However, it has not been heard that action has been taken against any traders, shopkeepers and random users.
That’s why consumers are not afraid to buy pesticides and use them indiscriminately irrespective of their impact on public health. The use of chemical pesticides in vegetables and fruits we use daily is increasing daily.
Doctors have said that the use and purchase of pesticides, which is increasing with commercialization in agriculture in Nepal, has a negative impact on people’s health.
Based on this issue, Khabarhub’s Bina Neupane approached public health expert Dr. Sharad Wanta to talk about pesticides and their impacts on public health. Here are the excerpts of the interview:
Has the use of pesticides used in crops recently become a big problem in terms of public health?
The use of chemical pesticides in agriculture is harmful to health. We have not got any record of this till now and cannot produce the exact data of the impact. However, this pesticide harms health.
Why has the use of pesticides that affect public health increased in Nepal?
The use of pesticides is mainly based on agriculture. In agriculture, we use chemical fertilizers instead of organic fertilizers. It reduces the resistance of the soil. The resistance of the plants growing in it is also low. Germs attack it. Pesticides are used more for that.
What are the short-term and long-term impacts of such use of pesticides?
The immediate effects of consuming pesticide-used products are general allergies and skin problems in the body.
The use of pesticides can be fatal in case it becomes a poison-causing case. It has its connection to suicide cases as well.
In the long term, the effects of this are from cancer to kidney, neuro, and skin-related diseases. Therefore, the impacts also depend on the extent to which we have used pesticides.
It has been said that a mother will give birth to a child with a low weight if she eats food with such pesticide, what is the reality of this?
Public Health Foundation, Nepal has conducted a study. If you come into contact with pesticides during pregnancy, the child is likely to have a low weight. Pesticides can cause cancer and can also cause kidney failure.
What are the options for reducing pesticides?
What is ironic is that the issue of chemicals used in agriculture is considered only limited to agriculture. However, the problem is not only in agriculture.
The important part now is that the agriculture, health, and industry sector should move forward for the reduction of the use of pesticides.
The Ministry of Health has not recommended any preventative use of pesticides now in use in agriculture. Health has only taken its negative effects. All this matter of importing pesticides, keeping statistics on pesticides, and distributing them has been connected to agriculture.
It should be managed in a multi-dimensional way. Consumers should also be aware of the effects the use of pesticides can have on health.
It is necessary to look for products using organic fertilizers. In the market, everyone’s attention is focused on good-looking products rather than organic ones. Mostly, the fruits and vegetables produced using pesticides look good. However, the consumer should be able to choose the quality product, not the good-looking one.
How can consumers become aware?
Health and agriculture also have a role to inform consumers on this matter. An awareness program should be done. When even conscious consumers go to the market, there is no organic product. For that, you need to manage the market.
What has the Nepal Public Health Foundation done to reduce the use of pesticides?
So far, we have been counseling the farmers to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers at least and to use organic fertilizers to produce more.
We have focused on selling and distributing chemical fertilizers safely and informing the farmers about it. Recently, we have focused on the consumer-centered program.
When the concerned authorities are abstaining from the responsibilities and taking no substantive actions how and when can we expect to face better?
In the health sector, we need to keep the use of pesticides and the possible hazards they can cause in the system. It seems that the health workers have not been able to explain the impacts of pesticides to the patients.
We have taken the initiative. We have attempted to address this issue in the coming days as well. It is multifaceted. A multilateral approach is necessary. One sector’s efforts do not suffice.
How can the use of pesticides be reduced?
If pesticides are used in the agricultural products that we use daily, it will affect both the immediate and the long term.
The long-term effects are extremely negative. The negative impact is also on the next generation. While buying agricultural products considering whether the products look or not is never enough, one should inquire whether the pesticides are used or not. The use of chemical pesticides will decrease through the efforts of consumers.
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