Syngenta and Bayer sell ‘dangerous’ pesticides in India

Swiss agrochemicals firm Syngenta and Germany’s Bayer have been accused of distributing dangerous pesticides in India’s Punjab region without sufficient safety information. The Basel-based firm says it is investigating the claims. According to a report published on Tuesday by a coalition of NGOs, including the Berne Declaration, the distribution of six badly labelled hazardous pesticide products to Indian farmers in the Punjab region – two by Swiss-based Syngenta and four by Bayer CropScience – violates the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management. “In the Punjab province, these firms distribute dangerous pesticides without guaranteeing safe user conditions…and knowingly expose farmers to major health risks,” the Berne Declaration said in a statement. The NGOs carried out a survey of 32 farmers in nine villages across the Malwa region of Punjab in 2014-2015 after reports of health problems and poor use of ...