Stakeholders Urge Awareness on Excessive Pesticide Use in Vegetables Leading to Rise in Cancer and Kidney Patients

Stakeholders have emphasized the need to raise awareness as the excessive use of pesticides in vegetables during cultivation is leading to an increase in cancer and kidney patients.

Speaking at a coordination meeting on pesticide reduction under nutrition promotion organized by the District Public Health Office, Lalitpur, the Chief of the District Public Health Office, Dr. Khageshwar Gelal, stressed the necessity of effectively raising awareness, as the number of patients suffering from cancer, kidney ailments, and other complex diseases is increasing daily due to carelessness in pesticide use during vegetable production.

“We have had to recommend treatment for many patients with various complex diseases because of carelessness in pesticide use; the main reason is the excessive use of pesticides, and the problem arises because people do not know how to avoid its effects,” he said.

Dr. Gelal emphasized focusing on results-oriented work in the health sector for pesticide reduction under nutrition promotion, stating that the role of local levels must be made effective for this. “It is necessary to raise awareness to use pesticides to increase production, but to be safe in the use of pesticides and the consumption of produced vegetables. Attention must be paid to raising awareness to use vegetables only after the effects of pesticides have been minimized,” he said.

Assistant Chief District Officer Suprabha Ghimire Dhungel stated that there is a need for extensive awareness campaigns and emphasized that local levels should focus more on coordinating and raising awareness among farmers, consumers, and traders.

“The District Administration Office has many issues to focus on, so effective work is not being carried out. Citizens were somewhat alerted about pesticides during the Corona pandemic. It is necessary for all concerned offices to work jointly to raise awareness,” she said. 

Presenting on measures for pesticide reduction in nutrition promotion and agriculture, Ritiksha Paudel, Crop Protection Officer at the Lalitpur District Agriculture Development Office, stated that pesticide use is dangerous and stressed the need for extreme caution as pesticides used for seed treatment and insect control directly affect human health. 

“Pesticide use has been ongoing in Nepal since the 1990s. A lot of pesticides are used in the Terai and the Valley. There is data showing that many pesticides are used in vegetable crops. Although Nepal is one of the countries that use less pesticide globally, the impact is greater due to a lack of attention to safe usage,” she said.

She mentioned that Nepal uses 0.396 kilograms of pesticide per hectare.

Ganesh Baniya, Central Chairman of the Pesticide Traders Association, stated that local level technical staff should focus on reaching farmers and raising awareness, and emphasized the need to encourage farmers towards the IPM (Integrated Pest Management) farming method.