Endosulfan – Issues in India

Ground Situation in Indian Farms Ramprasanna Pal, Village Gopalpur, Dist Birbhum, West Bengal is a paddy and vegetable farmer in Village Gopalpur, Dist Birbhum in West Bengal Mukund Mondal is a vegetable farmer in Village Thuara in 24 Parganas Dist of West Bengal Kamleshbhai Raujibhai Patel grows cotton and pulses (legumes) and sesame in Lunarda Village in Baroda District, Gujarat Talavia Gordhanbhai Vallabhbhai grows cotton, pulses (legumes) and vegetables in Akala Village of Amreli District in Gujarat All of them have used Endosulfan safely and effectively for periods ranging from 10 to 20 years. Endosulfan is an important part of their approach towards responsible farming and Integrated Pest Management (IPM). None of them have an idea that in April 2011 the Conference of Parties (COP) of the Stockholm Convention is meeting to decide on a recommendation to list Endosulfan as a Persistent Organic Pollutant

Ground Situation in India Mr Debarghya Guha is Chairman of Indian Tea Planters Association, Dooars Branch. He has been concerned that India will lose out on its tea production if Endosulfan is no longer available for use in tea as there are no cost effective alternative available. His growers have also been hit by the European demand that Endosulfan be no longer used on tea imported into Europe despite Indian tea meeting Codex standards of MRL (Maximum Residue Limit) on Tea. Dr Noor is a Professor from Rajasthan Agricultural University who is an expert on cross-pollination and propagates farming practices which are safe to pollinators and predators. He is concerned that if Endosulfan is banned, alternatives will be harmful to the farm ecosystem and could wipe out colonies of honeybees and affect cross pollinated crops. The farmer will lose out on a vital gift of nature

Endosulfan A broad spectrum generic “contact” insecticide soft on pollinators such as honey bees and beneficial such as lady bird beetle, chrysoperla, trichograma etc Invented in Germany and in use in global agriculture for over 55 years. Used in India for over 40 years Third largest selling generic insecticide worldwide with global market in excess of 40 million liters valued at over US$ 300 million (>Rs 1350 cores) with replacement cost of alternative estimated to be in excess of US$ 1 billion (>Rs 4500 crores) India’s share in global Endosulfan market is over 70% The Indian market of Endosulfan is approximately 12 million liters valued at US$ 60 million (Rs 270 crores) Exports of Endosulfan from India is valued at US$ 40 million (Rs 180 crores) Today in the eye of the storm in the battle of “patented” vs “generic” pesticides

Local needs We have small farms Mixed Cropping Different stages of Crop Hot and humid climate Mixed pest population-sucking chewing Our farmers need products that are versatile Endosulfan is recommended by Agricultural Universities as its best suited in these situations

Relevance of Endosulfan Multi Pest Multi Crop Safe to Beneficial Safe to Pollinators Avoids Resistance Breaks Resistance Economical

Pest and Pollinator Management Pest and Pollinator appear at the same time Challenge is to manage the pest and allow bee visits Use bee friendly insecticides Endosulfan is soft on Honey bees

SHARE OF LOSSES CAUSED BY DIFFERENT PESTS 33% 15% 26% 26% Insects Rodents & Others Weeds On an average 18% of the crop yield is lost due to pests Diseases (Annual monetary loss: Rs.60,000 Crores Source:Working Subgroup on Plant Protection, Planning Commission, 2001) NCIPM

Components of I.P.M. Integration of all the methods of Pest Management is essential as any single method will not be effective

Endosulfan – Cost Comparison

Implications on Indian Farmer If Endosulfan is listed as a Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) all countries who have ratified the convention have to take actions to eliminate the trade and use of the molecule over a period of time It will mean that the Indian farmer will be denied the right to choose Endosulfan as a affordable low cost solution for his crop protection needs It will mean that he will have to pay about 10 times more for alternatives which may not be as effective as Endosulfan It will mean that there will be an imbalance to his farm ecosystem as many of the suggested alternatives are not honey bee and pollinator friendly It will affect productivity of horticulture crops and will result in lower yields of fruits and vegetables which depend on pollination

Project by: Krishna Chavan (B.Sc. Agriculture) Sapna Kelkar (B.Sc. Agriculture) Swati Karmarkar (B.Sc. Food Science)

References: Wikipedia Google.com Indian study channel ICAR Media Reports from the recent years

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