Last Chance to Save Farmers' Right: Right to Choose Endosulfan

Respected Sir/Madam, 

We, the undersigned, as responsible citizens, would like to stand up for the right of the farmers to choose a pesticide which they deem economical and effective at the same time. The pesticide in question, Endosulfan, has unarguably been one of the most debated molecule for over a decade now. 

We humbly wish to bring your attention on some key aspects of this debate. Endosulfan has been used for over 50 years across the world and has proven to be a key element in the integrated pest management systems across various countries. There has been no evidence of Endosulfan affecting human health or on any other plants and organisms. The sole case, raised by some NGOs and other vested interests, in the anti-Endosulfan campaign has not been scientifically proven as yet and has been questioned on its credibility by a series of scientific studies. There is absolutely no scientific evidence to support on reports that link Endosulfan to diseases and deformities in Kasargod, Kerala. On the other hand, we have our own doubts as to how this tragedy happened only in Kerala because Endosulfan is used in large volumes across India. All the reports which claim that Endosulfan is the cause behind the deformities in Kerala have been found to have scientific data gaps and some of them have proven to be forged. We believe that the NGOs that champion the ban on Endosulfan have been directly funded by the European Union (EU) through some of its official channels. 

Being in use for over half a century, Endosulfan is very effective on pests while being soft on pollinators. It is said to be almost equivalent to the neem, which is considered in India as the best natural pesticide. Also, a litre of Endosulfan costs about Rs. 250 making it extremely affordable and economical for the poor farmers. And the reason behind it being so cheap is that it is a generic molecule. The patented pesticides proposed by the EU to replace Endosulfan have not been cleared scientifically as safe and are upto 10 times more expensive. We would like to reiterate that Endosulfan, unlike majority of the other pesticides, is soft on pollinators which help the farmers by pollinating and cross-pollinating. This is very essential for the ecosystem as well as for farmers. 

WHO and other such organizations of international importance do not consider Endosulfan as carcinogenic or genotoxic. It has been proven that Endosulfan degrades very fast in the environment and also in the human and animal bodies, which we believe is enough to know that it is not harmful to humans or the ecosystem. 

We demand strongly that the interests of poor farmers be safeguarded in countries such as India, China, Brazil, etc. The countries that use Endosulfan are primarily agro-based economies. It is the poor farmer who is the backbone of all development. Any effort to ban Endosulfan has the potential of disturbing the entire pest management process. We believe that the propaganda raised by the supporters of banning Endosulfan is motivated by the manufacturers of patented chemicals and do not have the best interest of hundreds of millions of poor farmers in mind. As responsible members of international fraternity, we look upto you to resist the unholy nexus of money power and lobbying by certain nations to push their products. We request you to please take heed of our collective voice and to safeguard the interests of our farmers and our economies, which are heavily dependant on agriculture.