The state government has banned the sale of nine types of pesticides, insecticides and fungicides with immediate effect, asking farmers not to use them on basmati, paddy and other crops.
The Secretary of Agriculture Department, Dr Kahan Singh Pannu, while issuing an advisory to the farmers to not use the chemical formulations of acephate,carbendazim, thiamethoxam, triazofos, tricyclazole, buprofezin, carbofuron, propiconazole and thiophanate methyl on basmati and other crops, said these chemicals were harmful to health. They are banned in most of the European countries.
Meanwhile, the state government has launched a campaign in all districts, asking farmers not to use excessive pesticides in cultivation of basmati, the total area of which is likely to cross 5 lakh hectares across the state.