A final Report on
Health Risk due to Pesticide residue in
Vegetable and Constructive Efforts from
Government of Nepal
Submitted by:-
Mr. Navin Dahal
Assistant Research Fellow
Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST)
Figure 1 Scenario view of FEWA LAKE reflecting Fishtail Mountain in its background, Pokhara, Nepal
Nepal is a landlocked country sandwiched between the emerging nation India and China.
Predominantly an agricultural country with 66 percent of its population engaged in agriculture
and contributes about 36 percent in the GDP. Almost 50 percent of Nepal’s population is
undernourished, and nearly half of all children under 5 are chronically malnourished.
Figure 2 Roof of the World, Mount Everest, Nepal
Due to lack of skilled manpower, irrigation facilities and poor technical knowledge on seed
varieties, the productivity of land has declined dramatically causing most of the farmers in debt.
Due to the climate change, the infestation by various pests has taken its toll on the production. In
the pretext of increasing productivity, farmers are knowingly or unknowingly using the
pesticides for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants which have
eventual impacts on the health of the consumers. The pesticides banned in most of the
developing countries are still being used rampantly and the obsolete pesticides are sold openly in
the market due to the porous border with India. It has resulted in the increment of health aliments
like Kidney problems, Hormone disruption, Cancer, Neurological disorder etc. from
consumption of such pesticide residue harvests.
Figure 3 A women spraying Pesticide in vegetables
The haphazard usage of pesticides disturbs the natural ecosystems and public health. It has led
detrimental effect on pest resurgence, insect resistance to pesticide, secondary pest outbreaks and
incidental loss of life due to pesticide contamination or deliberately intake etc. According to
health experts, pesticide use just before the vegetable harvest can lead to excessive residue in
food, affecting the health of the consumers.
Figure 4 Nurturing of the vegetable
Most of the vegetable sold in the Kathmandu valley are brought from the vegetable farms of the
adjoining districts (i.e Makwanpur, Kavre, Dhading ). Due to lack of technical knowledge on
pesticide use, farmers in the region are harvesting vegetables within a short span of time after
spraying. To give vegetables a fresh and natural looks, they even dip the product in the pesticide
solution. The denizens of the Kathmandu valley are unknowingly consuming vegetables having
high dose of pesticide residues. The Kalimati Fruits and Vegetable Market Development
Committee (KFVMDC) is the largest wholesale market in the Kathmandu valley. An estimated
544 tons of vegetables and fruits worth NRs 20 million are sold daily at this wholesale market
for a population of 1.74 million.
Figure 5 A Glimpse of Kalimati fruits and Vegetable market at Night
According to the report of Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD), the use of pesticides
is not so high in Nepal compared to other Asian countries. The average pesticide use in Nepal is
142 gm per hectare which is very low compared to other countries in Asia. The reported data
might be lower than the actual scenario due to porous border with India.
The Government of Nepal has banned fourteen pesticides such as DDT, Aldrin, Dieldrin,
Heptachlor, Toxaphene, Mirex, Endrin, Chlordane, BHC, Lindane, Phosphamidon,
Organomercury compounds, Methyl parathion and onocrotophos. However, their usages are
rampant through the country due to porous border. Nepalese famers are purchasing cheaper and
lower quality pesticides besides the banned pesticide to apply in the agriculture land. Even the
stockpiles of date expired and obsolete pesticides are found to be sold openly in the market.
Despite being banned under the government order in 2001, DDT, BHC dust is the most
frequently sold chemical pesticide followed by Parathion methyl (Metacid).
Considering the negative impacts of pesticides on human health various national and
international organizations, denizens have piled up pressure on government of Nepal to control
the haphazard usage of pesticides. Realizing the public concern, the Plant Protection Directorate
of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD), Nepal had built a pesticide residue testing
lab ( Rapid Bioassay for Pesticide Residue) on the premises of wholesale market to test the level
of pesticide residues in the vegetables and fruits.
The test result made the government easier to ban the fruits and vegetable found to have high
dose of pesticide residue than the acceptable standard. The result helped the government of
Nepal to take action against such traders who are supplying vegetables and fruits containing high
pesticide levels. In the long run, this initiative will encourage farmers to consider the “days-to
harvest” period after the pesticide usage for harvesting of the products and making farmers aware
on the banned and obsolete pesticide found rampantly in the market.
Figure 6 Glimpses of the ire vented by the farmers against the government
Figure 7 Traffic got stalled due to the dumping of Tomatoes.
The government decision has led a constructive impact on the health of the denizens whereas the
farmers who had been using the excessive amount of the pesticides feared of being caught red-
handed vented their ire’s by dumping about 8 tons of tomatoes infront of the wholesale market.
The farmer blamed the government of not providing enough market opportunities as they need to
sell their products at low cost.
However, the government timely and robust decision on the installation of the lab at the
wholesale market has shown that the government is committed on minimizing the health risk of
its denizens from the chronic effect of the Pesticides.
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