ADILABAD: The calculation is simple in the minds of many farmers in the erstwhile Adilabad district: more pesticide equals better yield. But on the ground, this logic is proving fatal. From the lack of protective gear during spraying to the sale of unregistered brands, every step is fraught with risk. The result is a dual crisis — a public health emergency marked by rising cancer cases and poisonings, and an ecological one — all unfolding without any official mechanism to monitor the torrent of chemicals being used.
Pesticide use has surged across crops. While these chemicals help control insects and plant diseases, their excessive use is triggering severe health hazards and ecological imbalance, officials said. Cancer cases are reportedly rising, with doctors linking several to prolonged exposure in the fields. Lack of awareness remains a major factor.
Public policy expert Dr Narasimha Reddy Donthi told TNIE that pesticide exposure has been proven to cause cancer globally, citing a US case where a farmer received compensation after developing cancer from exposure. He criticised the absence of a state-level mechanism to regulate pesticide use and urged a ban on hazardous varieties.
Lack of inspections
Farmers in the district cultivate about 5.6 lakh hectares, using over 65,000 litres of pesticides each year — a trade worth nearly Rs 750 crore. Yet, officials seldom inspect pesticide shops or verify if products are approved by the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC), sources said. Unregistered brands continue to flood markets, particularly in Agency areas.
While task force teams seize spurious BT cotton seeds before sowing, the unchecked sale of unauthorised pesticide brands goes unnoticed. Telangana remains among the states with the highest use of agrochemicals, as farmers continue to believe that higher doses mean higher yields. Experts say the government must promote organic and integrated farming to reduce chemical dependency.
There is no mechanism to monitor pesticide use at the field level. Farmers are advised six sprays per crop cycle but often apply eight. Without protective gear, many inhale toxins that damage the lungs and other organs.
Double whammy for farmers
Each year, several poisoning cases are reported at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Adilabad, and in hospitals across the Maharashtra border. Last year, 20-year-old farmer Ade Sachin from Shivnoor village in Jainoor mandal died after collapsing in his cotton field while spraying pesticides.
“Farmers are losing in two ways,” Dr Donthi said. “They are getting cancer from hazardous pesticides and then spending lakhs in hospitals for treatment.”
He urged officials to raise awareness and enforce stricter controls on pesticide use.
According to RIMS records, pesticide poisoning — from both accidental exposure and suicides — continues to claim lives: in 2021, 910 admissions and 104 deaths; 2022, 898 and 111; 2023, 861 and 70; 2024, 830 and 108; and until July this year, 377 admissions and 56 deaths.
Doctors say these figures are only the visible part of a much larger problem silently spreading across Adilabad’s fields.
