Worried about impact of pesticides on your health? Here's how you can get rid of it the organic way

The agriculture sector uses most of India's pesticides with the products applied most liberally to crops like rice, wheat, maize, chillies, cotton and soya bean.

An average of about 200,000 people die from the toxic exposure to pesticides every year across the world, according to a UN report issued early this year. With lax regulations and safeguards in the developing world, it is obvious they contribute most to the tally.

The pesticide industry in India is worth over Rs 5000 crores and produces over 90,000 metric tonnes. The agriculture sector uses most of this with the products applied most liberally to crops like rice, wheat, maize, chillies, cotton and soya bean.

Given that the country uses generic pesticides from long discovered molecules, many of which are banned globally and even in developing nations like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and Syria, one doesn't need the UN report to realise the "catastrophic impacts" on human health and the environment.

Most studies in India have noted that more than 20 pc of food tested showed pesticide levels above the maximum residual level allowed for each. (This is against a similar 1.4 pc in EU.) Many fruits, vegetables and milk have been found to be most contaminated with WHO Class I pesticides, classified as most hazardous. DDT residues have been found in 82 pc of milk samples tested.

And still, both governments and academia (agricultural research) refuse to let go of pesticides, resorting instead to "safe" pesticides and regulation. The issue of food safety, farmer health and sustainability continues to be ignored.

With such neglect of a major health hazard (pesticides have been linked to a host of illnesses from cancer, Alzheimer's, birth defects, sterility and so on) consumers have only one resort. To opt for food grown without pesticides. That is where organic food comes in. Using natural ecosystem services to cycle nutrients in the soil and control pests, it does away with chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

In India, one of the largest organic companies is Sresta Natural Bioproducts with its leading food brand, 24 Mantra Organic. Under its wing, the company guides more than 25,000 farmers to cultivate 1,50,000 acres across 15 States of India. Besides providing safe and nutritious food, the company has a vision of sustainability which it plans to take forward to reach 500,000 acres under organic farming by 2020.

It began in 1992, when the founder Rajsekar Seelam Reddy was working in an agricultural products company and observed the alarming use and spread of chemical usage on farms and the resulting rural indebtedness. He was disturbed by the way traditional farming was pushing the farmer into poverty as also the land. Working on a way out, he founded the company in 2004.

With strict guidelines and stricter monitoring of adherence to organic principles, Sresta ensures that its products ranging from grains, cereals to processed food are safe and pesticide free. Using state of art grain cleaning, chemical free fumigation to prevent infestation, certified aseptic processing Sresta claims to ensure organic food purety.

All its farming projects are under Organic Certification for Euro 2092/91 standards, US NOP and Indian NPOP organic standards. The company is registered with FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) and US FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). It exports its products to the US and Europe.

Recently, in a bid to promote organic food and create awareness among consumers about dangers of pesticide, the company launched a 'freedom of pesticide' week in Bangalore. As part of the campaign, it offered up to 30 percent saving on many of its produce. Rajashekar Reddy Seelam, founder and MD, Sresta noted on the occasion that it was "a step towards enhancing the quality of lives of farmers, consumers and environment through a unique model where we are actively involved at each stage."

Speaking to IBTimes, he shared a few thoughts on organic farming, the need for it and Sresta's model. "It is of concern that in India we do not have a defined permissible daily intake (of pesticide) in India. Even the maximum residue limits are way higher than in other nations and even these limits are not enforced. In fact, hardly 100 out of 200 pesticides used have a MRL value fixed."

"Children are four times more susceptible to pesticides," he added.

Reddy spoke of the challenges in convincing the agricultural community that yields of organic farming are comparable or even more than traditional farming. The possibility of farming without fertilisers and pesticides is still something many do not accept, he said.

Many experts have pointed to some of the reasons for pesticide contaminations as owing to indiscriminate use, no waiting for prescribed period, use of sub standard pesticides and banned ones like DDT, dealers pushing their products on farmers, etc.

Quoting various studies like done by CSE and All India Coordinated Research on Pesticide Residue, Reddy said that most of our cereals and vegetables are pesticide contaminated. It is in this context his company has, he said, come up with a model that addresses "sustainability, ethics and ensures commercial growth".

With more than 40 projects and each spread around in 15-20 kms, covering few 100 to few 1000 acres, Sresta makes sure that for every 150–200 farmers there is a trained field associate. Procurement is done directly from farmers without any middlemen. All this is part of the company's Farm to fork Approach to maintain the organic integrity.

"We only procure from our farmers and we ensure that there is farm to kitchen traceability. Based on batch number on a pack we can tell which farmers have grown the contents of the pack."

Here are few questions he answered for us.

How do you make sure the products are free of pesticides and chemicals?

24 Mantra uses a five step process to ensure organic integrity. This includes:

Social pressure by forming informal groups of farmers.

Our field staff visit the fields regularly. We do more than a million field visits every year. We train the farmers in organic cultivation and also suggest timely solutions to any problems they face.

Internal inspections are done every year by our teams in every season to ensure that the farmer is practising organic methods and also to ensure there is no contamination from neighboring fields.

Inspections by internationally recognized certification agencies are conducted every season.

After harvest and before we purchase the produce is tested for 182 pesticide residues, heavy metals and microbial contaminants.

We conduct a total of over a lakh inspections every year.

How exactly do you define organic food?

Organic food is grown sustainably without using chemical pesticides, Fertilizers and ensuring that the farmer gets a fair price. The products are also made using without any preservatives, artificial colours, flavours or any other chemical additives.

Are there no pests in organic fields? How are pests managed?

Pests will be there but they can be managed using some methods. These include Proper crop rotation, integrated pest management, Using preparations made of locally available herbs like tulsi, ginger, neem, marigold, custard apple etc. In case of severe pest attack we use biological interventions by releasing natural enemies of pests. No chemical pesticides are used in organic agriculture. We find the incidence of pests and diseases is much lower in organic fields due to the practices.

Coming to the big problem with organic food, what are reasons for higher costs of organic food?

There are few valid reasons. These include the premium paid to farmers; higher storage costs -- we use cold storages to prevent infestation and this is about five times more expensive than normal storage; higher treatment costs to prevent storage pests -- we use non chemical modified atmospheric methods to treat the grains unlike conventional chemical treatment; better packaging to ensure good shelf life, and finally we have to give higher margins to retailers compared to conventional products.

Finally, given the present context of drought in many states, how would organic farming fare?

Organic farms withstand drought better due to healthier soils and better water retention capacity of the farms. The humus retains water and prevents evaporation. In fact, organic farms require almost 10 percent lesser water than traditional farming. Our focus in drought hit areas is on drought tolerant and locally suitable open pollinated varieties of crops.

We have also been able to achieve same kind of yield in our farms as obtained with traditional farming. This is proof that organic farming is the sustainable and healthy way ahead.