25% of the world’s production of agrichemicals is consumed in cotton fields, while cotton fields account for only about 5% of all farmland around the globe. (Source: www.organicexchange.org )
Agrichemicals are hazardous to all lives on the earth, including humans, animals and plants. Containers of agrichemicals used in India bear the warning label “Poison.” Skin contact to agrichemicals causes sore and persistent itchiness, and oral intake causes damage to the throat.
Agrichemicals gradually melt in subsurface water. The groundwater pumped from wells causes diseases in villagers’ internal organs. What is worse, agrichemicals kill microbes in the soil, causing death of soil and reduced crop yield. This compels poor farmers to depend even more heavily on agrichemicals, and their debts grow.
Agrichemicals are hazardous to all lives on the earth, including humans, animals and plants. Containers of agrichemicals used in India bear the warning label “Poison.” Skin contact to agrichemicals causes sore and persistent itchiness, and oral intake causes damage to the throat.
Agrichemicals gradually melt in subsurface water. The groundwater pumped from wells causes diseases in villagers’ internal organs. What is worse, agrichemicals kill microbes in the soil, causing death of soil and reduced crop yield. This compels poor farmers to depend even more heavily on agrichemicals, and their debts grow.
Agrichemicals’ Damage to Cotton Producers
- Physical Damage -
(1) Direct damage to the skin, when handling chemicals by hand or walking on chemicals-contaminated soil.
(2) Damage to the throat and internal organs, when sprayed chemicals are taken in orally.
(3) Agrichemicals gradually melt into subsurface water. The groundwater pumped from wells causes diseases in the internal organs.
- Economic Damage -
(4) Heavy use of agrichemicals kills microbes in the soil. The soil “dies,” reducing yield markedly.
(5) This compels poor farmers to depend even more heavily on agrichemicals. They suffer heavy economic burden.
(6) To buy more chemicals, farmers resort to loans. The poorer the farmers are, the more often they borrow money from loan sharks rather than banks. Many farmers have difficulties in repaying their debts. Some of them go so far as to commit suicide.
- Physical Damage -
(1) Direct damage to the skin, when handling chemicals by hand or walking on chemicals-contaminated soil.
(2) Damage to the throat and internal organs, when sprayed chemicals are taken in orally.
(3) Agrichemicals gradually melt into subsurface water. The groundwater pumped from wells causes diseases in the internal organs.
- Economic Damage -
(4) Heavy use of agrichemicals kills microbes in the soil. The soil “dies,” reducing yield markedly.
(5) This compels poor farmers to depend even more heavily on agrichemicals. They suffer heavy economic burden.
(6) To buy more chemicals, farmers resort to loans. The poorer the farmers are, the more often they borrow money from loan sharks rather than banks. Many farmers have difficulties in repaying their debts. Some of them go so far as to commit suicide.
