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.