Pesticide application and its adverse impact on health: Evidences from Kerala

Indian agriculture has been under stress quite for long time. Decline in public investment, poor extension net work, lack of marketing facilities, erratic input supply and others have all collectively contributed for decline or stagnant in Indian agriculture. Increasing use of synthetic inputs and non-judicial use of natural resources including land and water have also added the problem only to become worse. Now, there has been consistent attempt to either reduce the chemical inputs or stop its use in agriculture for promoting sustainable agriculture system. The state-owned Plantation Corporation of Kerala
(PCK) began dumping pesticides through aerial spraying each year in the 1970’s cashew plantations spread over 2,200 hectares in six gram panchayats of Padre village in Kasargod district. The continuous application of pesticides contaminated the flora and fauna, the aquatic system underwent tremendous changes, and the local inhabitants suffer from several problems.