Pesticide overuse killing insects that protect Bangladesh’s crops

Excessive and adulterated pesticide use is killing insects that naturally protect crops in Bangladesh, while helping harmful pests develop resistance to chemicals, agricultural experts have warned.

Around 80% of insects found in Bangladesh are beneficial, including species that prey on crop-damaging pests, entomologist and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute Director Dr Nirmal Kumar Dutta said at a workshop in Dhaka on Wednesday.

But indiscriminate pesticide use is destroying these natural predators, disrupting pest control and contributing to outbreaks of harmful insects, he said.

More than 25 new harmful pests had entered Bangladesh by 2016, while repeated chemical exposure has made many existing pests resistant, pushing farmers towards heavier pesticide use.

“We need to move away from highly hazardous pesticides and put greater emphasis on biological pest control,” Dutta said.

The scale of adulteration is also significant. Of around 8,000 registered pesticides in Bangladesh, an assessment last year found only 47% to be completely pure, according to Dutta.

Tests also found pesticide residues above permissible limits in 10 percent of vegetables and 4% of fruits. Excessive residues were detected in 5 percent of dates and 10% of dried fish.

Prof Dr Khandakar Shariful Islam, dean of City University, warned that counterfeit pesticides could compound the problem.

“We are using pesticides to kill insects, but because of adulterated pesticides, pests are not being eliminated,” he said.

The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council organised the workshop at the SAARC Agriculture Conference Room in Farmgate.

--