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Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Punjab: Use of herbicide to expedite moong, maize harvest sounds alarm bells
BATHINDA: With the harvesting of moong and spring maize at its peak in Punjab, the rampant use of toxic herbicide has come to the fore. Paraquat Dichloride - a herbicide plant killer - is being used massively to quicken the drying time of both crops as farmers are in a hurry to transplant paddy or basmati. Though Paraquat Dichloride is widely used for weeding and grass control, it is being used in the fields in Punjab on moong, also called green gram, and maize. Immediately after the spray on the plants, it starts working, and the plant is ready to be harvested in the next 48-72 hours. In doing so, farmers even overlook the health hazards. The use of Paraquat Dichloride to expedite harvesting when the crop is nearing maturity is being seen as a cause of concern. Paraquat is a highly toxic compound that can cause serious health effects. "The Registration Committee (RC) constituted under Section 5 of the Insecticides Act, 1968, in its 361st meeting on Dec 12, 2015, deliberated to review 66 pesticides, including Paraquat Dichloride, and accepted its continued use with caution, improved packaging to prevent misuse, and training for medical personnel to handle poisoning cases. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo Further, a sub-committee was constituted to review the toxicity and safety of Paraquat Dichloride," Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Dec 3, 2024, when asked about the use of the toxic chemical Paraquat by the farmers. The Centre regulates the manufacture and use of pesticides in the country through the Insecticides Act, 1968, and Insecticides Rules, 1971, and pesticides are allowed for use in the country only after considering data on different parameters such as chemistry, bio-efficacy, toxicity, packaging, and processing to ensure efficacy and safety to human beings, animals, and the environment. The details of doses, crops, precautionary measures, and antidotes are prescribed on labels and leaflets of pesticides. Dr Hargurpartap Singh from the small town of Nihal Singh Wala in Moga district is running a campaign against the use of Paraquat. He deals with acute poisoning and regularly comes across cases of ingesting Paraquat. Normally, farmers keep the chemical in their motor room or homes after use on crops and sometimes even ingest it upon any disturbance on the economic front or familial issues. He came across two cases in the last week, and both died as the intake caused multi-organ failure. In Punjab, both moong and maize are being sold below the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 8,682 per quintal and Rs 2,225 per quintal, respectively. While moong is fetching Rs 7,000-Rs 7,500 per quintal, maize is being sold at Rs 1,700-Rs 2,000 per quintal, depending upon the quality of the crop Jagraon in Ludhiana district is the biggest market for marketing of moong. Commission agents at Jagraon grain market said the crop fetched Rs 7,000-Rs 7,500.
India Today
12-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Is toxic weedicide only reason MP govt is refusing to procure moong at MSP?
A major political row involving farmers has erupted in Madhya Pradesh, with the state government refusing to buy moong at MSP (Minimum Support Price) this MSP for moong this year is Rs 8,682 per quintal, around Rs 1,500-Rs 2,000 per quintal higher than market prices. For the past few years, the state's farmers, especially those along the Narmada in the central region, have been sowing moong as a short summer crop between the major rabi and kharif summer moong, sown over 1.2 million-1.4 million hectares, is known to have added to farm incomes in the districts of Narmadapuram, Raisen, Sehore, Vidisha, Jabalpur, Katni, Harda and state government had been procuring the summer moong crop for the past four years. But last week, agriculture production commissioner Ashok Barnwal announced moong won't be purchased as, in his words, it is mostly contaminated with harmful weedicides. What is the role of weedicides in moong cultivation, and is that the real reason why the government decided not to buy it?The summer moong crop is sown in late March-early April as soon as the wheat crop has been harvested. Irrigation is provided through tubewells, or through dams, for which the water resources department especially releases water to support the has a two-and-a-half-month cycle, but farmers are in a hurry to harvest the crop as any delay will cost them dearly in the following kharif season, sowing for which begins in is an open secret that farmers spray moong crop with broad leaf weedicides after seed formation and ripening in the pod, which quickly readies it for harvesting using combines. This saves farmers around 10-15 days at a critical juncture when sowing for the next crop is to be why has the state government woken up to the practice of spraying weedicides, such as Paraquat, now when this has been in practice for years? There is ample material on the health hazards from consuming something treated with Paraquat, widely considered highly toxic. However, the state government has not carried out any lab tests to ascertain the presence of poisonous substances in the moong crop. Also, not all farmers use weedicides for Paraquat is not a banned weedicide in India. If weedicides are making moong hazardous, their sale outside the MSP ecosystem should also be curtailed, say do the reasons lie elsewhere? Sources in the government said that while chief minister Mohan Yadav is against the use of weedicides on crops, the government also has a financial issue to deal with. Last year, 580,000 tonnes of moong were procured at the MSP of Rs 8,558 per quintal. Of this, the Union government footed the bill for around 330,000 tonnes, as per a limit it had fixed; the balance was left with the MP government to sell in the open is not part of the public distribution system. The sale in open market caused a loss of around Rs 1,000 crore last year. It is this amount that the state government may be wanting to save. Besides the state government, the Union government also lost a little more than Rs 1,000 crore in post-procurement sale in the open is huge politics over pricing of farm produce in Madhya Pradesh as agriculture is the main economic activity. The BJP, during the 2023 election, had promised wheat procurement at Rs 2,700 per quintal but is yet to honour it. Its government has also not delivered on the promised paddy procurement the Opposition Congress has been vocal about the moong procurement issue, the state government seems to be in no mood to oblige. Now, with former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the Union agriculture minister, farmers have their eyes fixated on him in the hope of an to India Today MagazineMust Watch
