The Theni public hearing was the third in the series.
Shanthi, a field investigator of the study said that while
gathering information she found it common to see households using
old pesticide cans to store food and water in kitchens, and said,
"I'm sure this is another way these children have been exposed to
the poisons."
Jeyakodi, a farmer of Vadaputhupatti village, said "Even cattle
have fallen ill after grazing in fields which are soaked in
pesticides. If this is what happens to livestock, I cannot even
begin to imagine the effects on children, especially since the
children love playing in the fields."
Pesticides create a vicious cycle of pest resistance resulting
in increased pesticide use, all of which lead to debilitating
effects on the farmers' finances and health. During the pesticides
spraying season the rate of acute poisoning cases increase
drastically and once-healthy farmers are no longer able to tend
their farms and their families.
Speaking of the government's indifference to the uncontrolled
use and promotion of pesticides, Dr.V.Markandan, a panelist and the
former Vice Chancellor of the Gandhigram Rural University said, "
Instead of eminent agriculturists and the government providing
support and enhancing our indigenous and well-established methods
of cultivation, they are stepping into disaster zones, by promoting
the mindless technologies of pesticides and Genetic Engineering.
All this is being done, at the expense of the community and the
health of our children." He urged the farming community to revert
to the traditional and safe methods of agriculture, which were used
before the start of the chemical era and stressed the importance
for the government to assist the shift to sustainable practices in
agriculture.
An organic farmer from Erode, Chellamuthu spoke about the
difficulties he faced when he was a pesticides sprayer and the
number of times he was admitted to hospital because he was victim
to acute poisoning. He has now been practicing organic farming for
the last seven years and is an enthusiastic advocate of
sustainable, organic agriculture. He urged the farmers to switch
over to this form of agriculture just like many farmers from his
village "who are now providing a safe life for their children".
While Somasundaram, an organic farmer from Tiruppur spoke about
the lack of incentives and market for organic produce, another
panelist, Retd. Justice Shri. M.A. Murugesan District Judge,
Madurai, spoke of the double standards of the government; on the
one hand, they acknowledge the ill effects of pesticides, while on
the other hand, the policy continues to promote banned
pesticides.
"Given that Sustainable Agriculture alternatives are well
established and are even being practiced by farmers in these areas,
it is unfortunate that these alternatives are not given the support
by the government," said Thangamma Monnappa, Greenpeace campaigner,
"Instead they continue to support the disastrous path of chemical
agriculture. It is high time that the government facilitated the
shift to more sustainable methods of crop cultivation."
In response to the findings of Arrested Development, Greenpeace
calls upon the Indian government to immediately ban the manufacture
and sale of all Class1 a, 1b and Class II pesticides and all
neuro-endocrine disruptors, including pesticides banned in the
developed world as a first step towards the complete phasing out of
pesticides. Greenpeace calls upon the government to support the
farming community by creating mechanisms and infrastructure that
provide support to organic farming and other non-pesticide and non-
GE (Genetically Engineered) agricultural practices. Greenpeace
calls upon the Pesticide industry to accept its liability and
provide compensation and rehabilitation for all victims of
pesticides poisoning, including children.
At the end of the Public hearing, the panel came out with a set of recommendations, which included:
The government should ban sale and production of pesticides,
which are banned in other countries.
An expert committee on organic farming should be constituted to
document the various techniques of organic farming discussed in
similar forums, which would lead to the creation of an organic
farming policy. This committee should also look into the problems
faced by small farmers who would like to make the shift to organic
farming
The available Indigenous agricultural knowledge must be
documented and made available for the general public by the
Ministry of Agriculture.
The government must promote and encourage the practice of seed
saving to save indigenous varieties of seeds.
The government must regulate the aggressive marketing of seed
and pesticide corporations.
A substantial amount of the agricultural budget should be
allocated for the promotion of organic agriculture.
The government must regulate incentives given by banks, which
compel small farmers to adopt pesticide intensive agriculture.
The government must establish organic farming centres across the
country to promote Organic farming amongst the farming
community.