Pune: The state agriculture department banned five pesticides, for two months, to prevent accidental inhalation while spraying the farms.In the past four years, 272 farmers have died and thousands of others have fallen ill following accidental pesticide inhalation in the state. Farmers in the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions usually spray these pesticides on cotton and soybean crop and as a result, most of the pesticide-related farmer deaths have been reported from these regions. Yavatmal, where more than 50 farmers and labourers died due to pesticide inhalation in the four years, is among the worst-affected districts.The five banned pesticide combinations are profefonos 40% + cypermethrin 4%; fipronil 40% + Imidacloprid 40%; acephate 75%; difenthiron 50%; and monochrotophos 36%.“Our internal committee has recommended the ban on these pesticides. It has been found that most of the deceased farmers used these pesticides. Storage, sale and use of these pesticides are permitted until the next notice is issued. Our flying squads and officials will conduct random raids,” said Sachindra Pratap Singh, the agriculture commissioner.Meanwhile, agriculture experts and farmers said the government should ban these pesticides permanently. Rajaram Deshmukh, the former vice-chancellor of the Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, said, “The Centre needs to step in and ban these pesticides permanently. Adequate research has been done by agriculture scientists to make available viable alternatives to the chemical pesticides, but the government somehow failed to promote them.”

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