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Olympics hurting Karnataka farmers: Bangalore

Written by cityreporter
04 August 2008
Beijing’s clean-up act for the Games is hurting Karnataka farmers. With China shutting down all its pesticide organophosphorus (OP) units to stem pollution ahead of the Olympic Games, Karnataka, where the pesticide is widely used, is bracing to meet the shortage. The Chinese government has directed its administration to shut all the OP units, including other pollutant chemical industries, in the backdrop of Olympics. The decision will impact Karnataka farmers directly. The government, beset with fertilizer scarcity, is gearing up to face another round of battle, this time pesticide scarcity. “We’re ascertaining the pesticide-consumption quantum in the state. We’ve asked district joint and deputy directors to collate the figures so that an alternative can be found,’’ sources said. China is a major supplier of OP pesticide (yellow phosphorus being the major component), classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as toxicity class I (highly toxic) or toxicity class II (moderately toxic).Organophosphorus compounds are used as pesticides to control insect vectors, which are found in food and commercial crops. Since small quantity is enough to cover large tracts of land and crops, this pesticide is widely used. Duty hike has hit pesticide production ! User reviews There are no user reviews for this item. To write a review please register or login.