World pesticide use soars

The use of pesticides worldwide has risen dramatically from 0.49 kg per hectare in 1961 to 2 kg in 2004 and with this the export of pesticides has touched an all time high of $ 16 billions, the World Watch Insititute (WWI) has said.

The increase in the use of pesticides is attributed mainly to the rising use of herbicides on genetically modified crops in China, it said.

“The world exports of pesticides in 2004 reached $ 15.9 billion, a new high in sales for this segment of the global chemical industry,” WWI, an environmental research organisation, said.

Citing statistics of the World Health Organisation it says that some three million people suffer from severe pesticide poisoning every year that would include cancer and birth defects.

Hindu News