Opinion
Going organic
Nepal has a huge potential for a thriving biopestisides industrySiegfried Keller & Yubak Dhoj GC
Names like Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, BASF, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont and Sumitomo Chemical are famous names in the plant protection industry. Along with them, there are hundreds of other companies that produce chemicals used worldwide to kill weeds, plant pathogenic fungi, pest insects and other unwanted organisms. But are these entire organisms unwanted?
It is correct that pesticides have been developed to control organisms which compete with us and endanger the health of humans and domestic animals. But each year millions of workers in agriculture experience severe poisoning from pesticides while thousands of them have a fatal ending—not to mention the many more millions suffering from chronic pesticide intoxications.
Lessons from history
Let us have a closer look at the insecticides. The development of synthetic compounds started in the 1940s with the organochlorines (e.g. DDT). Then came the organophosphates, carbamides, pyrethroids to the latest class of the neonicotinoides. This development has run parallel to an increase in the cost of the development of agricultural products and in the selling costs of these products; an increase in the range of affected insects (significant loss of host-specific effects); an increase in the use of pesticides in agriculture; a significant increase in pest resistance; an increase in environmental impacts; and a dramatic decrease in biodiversity, especially in agricultural areas. The worst case of using insecticides already exists: The complete loss of pollinators and other insects in regions with fruit production as monoculture.
Should Nepal also head this way? We say no, because there are good alternatives to chemical pesticides. The Nepali agriculture is characterised by small field plots, a wide diversity of crops and an adapted crop rotation system. Further, the uncultivated agricultural environment is biodiverse and harbours many natural enemies of the pest insects, which can contribute to pest suppression.
Pest insects can be controlled with soft interventions. This term mainly captures the use of naturally existing enemies of the pest insects and the use of raw or manufactured plant materials. Among the natural enemies, insect pathogenic viruses, bacteria, fungi and nematodes and some parasitic wasps have a big potential as pest control agents. They all are present in Nepal and only need to be collected and mass produced. Many plants also have insecticidal effects or work as insect repellents. The best known are tanacetum that contains the insecticide pyrethrum, derris that contains rotenone and azadirachtaindica (neem). There are many other plants such as these in Nepal.
Many possibilites
There are dozens of other possibilities in Nepal, where various types of crops pests and diseases have been controlled by using the microbial pesticides as biopesticides. Some names are metarhizium anisopliae based green muscardine fungus, beauveria basssina based white muscardine fungus, insect-parasitic Nematodes with the genera of Steinernematids and Heterorhabditis. Similarly, insect pathogenic virus (with nuclear polyhederosis virus) and baculo viruses are effective against many forms of larval insects. To control the dreaded fungal disease, trichoderma viridae and trichoderma harzianum are effective. To kill the plant feeding insects and pathogenic diseases, products of these compounds as biopesticides are already being used in the country.
Therefore, the raw material for a Nepali insecticide industry already exists in the country or, in the case of some plants, can be cultivated. Skilled scientists and experienced companies are also present in the country. So an industry that is independent of foreign companies and that produces insecticides which are harmless for humans, animals and the environment is feasible in Nepal. Further, such products are in agreement with the regulations for biological or ecological agriculture. The realisation of such a vision would offer several advantages like creation of jobs, build-up of organic agriculture, supply of high quality food for local markets and export of organic products.
Some people may argue that the adoption of organic agriculture may result in low agricultural production. But it is not true in the long run. It has many advantages over chemical-based farming. In case of Nepal, it is imperative to promote environment-friendly farming so that there is a smooth handover of the farmlands to the future generations. Also, it will work in the favour of the tourism industry by creating an opportunity to make organic food available for the tourists. There is ample opportunity for this at a commercial scale, which can make tremendous contributions to human health and environment through organic agriculture.
GC is Director General of Department of Agriculture; Keller is a biological control specialist