Health impact is not checked
Bio-pesticides are made using living viral, fungal and bacterial formulations, which are tested, approved and licensed.
Hyderabad: Agri products and food derivatives from crops using bio-products are not tested for human safety. Dr S.J. Rehman, principal scientist of AIRCB Biological Control at Prof. Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University said, “Tests are done for efficacy against target organisms like pests or insects, human health safety, livestock safety, and phytotoxity. If they are approved, then there is accountability. That is not done in the case of bio-products.
"Safety of non-target organisms such as humans and pets is important in the licensing a bio product. In bio-products not licensed by any authority, nobody knows what residues are present in the food crops. What if there are human pathogenic organisms present or anything that causes chronic illness? No environment safety studies are done,” he said.
In most cases, bio-product makers claim their products resist pests and diseases; this, however, attracts provisions of the Insecticide Act, and on farmers' complaints, cases can be booked.
He said, “Sometimes they mix growth promoters like Gibberellic acid and Naphthalene Acetic acid which causes flushing of plants, and farmers get pseudo satisfaction. Sucking pests like white flies and aphids, which are vectors of viral diseases, prefer the flushed plants and farmers suffer losses due to viral diseases of crops. Farmers are taking a risk by using these products.”