5
Incidence of Acute Pesticide Poisoning
Among Female and Male Cotton Growers
In India
Franceses Mancini, Ariena H. C. van Bruggen, Janice L. S.
Jiggins, Arun C. Ambatipud and Helen MurphyIntroduction
Agriculture in South India is primarily a subsistence production system that
involves 127 million cultivators and 107 million agricultural labourers. Crop pro-
ductivity in the rainfed area, which includes more than 70 per cent of the culti-
vated land, is low and unpredictable (Department of Agriculture, 2002). The
majority of the population is rural (74.3 per cent, Census 2001) and 34.7 per cent
live below the international poverty level (World Bank, 2003).
During the Green Revolution, high yielding varieties of various crops were
introduced into the farming systems to increase productivity. These varieties were
significantly more susceptible to plant pests and diseases and, subsequently, the use
of pesticides became more intense, increasing from 2330 kton during 1950–51 to
54,773 kton in 1990–91 (Directorate of Plant Protection, 2002, personal com-
munication). Pesticides are largely applied to protect commercial crops. Cotton
cultivation alone uses more than 60 per cent of the national consumption. The
consequences of such indiscriminate use of pesticides have recently become a mat-
ter of public concern in India, following the publication of alarming information
about the levels of pesticide residues in drinking water and soft drinks (CSE,
2003). Beside the consumers’ risks stands the documented hazard to producers,
who are directly exposed to chemical substances (Kishi et al, 1995; Murphy et al,
1999; Wesseling et al, 2001; Kunstadter et al, 2001). Agricultural labourers and
Reprinted from Mancini F, van Bruggen A H C, Jiggins J L S, Ambatipud A C and Murphy H. 2006.
Incidence of acute pesticide poisoning among female and male cotton growers in India. International Journal
of Occupational and Environmental Health 11(3), pp221–232 [In Mancini F. 2006. Impact of IPM Farmer
Field Schools on Health, Farming Systems, the Environment, and Livelihoods of Cotton Growers in South-
ern India. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Chapter 2, pp9–26.] Reproduced with permission.