Despite playing a major part in food production, pesticides can have profound negative effects on the environment and human health, with exposure linked to illnesses such as heart, respiratory and neurological diseases, and cancer.
Farmers and farm workers are uniquely at risk – they can be exposed during the preparation and application of pesticides and when touching treated crops or contaminated equipment and clothing.
The research, commissioned by the Pesticide Action Network, found there to be a staggering 402 to 433 million cases of unintentional acute pesticide poisoning of farmers and farm workers every year across the 139 countries studied. Based on the study’s findings and a worldwide farming population of 934 million, the researchers estimate that about 46% of farmers and agricultural workers globally experience pesticide poisoning every year. The study also found that an estimated 11,000 deaths occur in the 139 countries studied, with nearly 60% of these in India.
Like the mortality figures, the burden of pesticide poisoning is not felt equally. The greatest estimated number of poisonings was in southern Asia, followed by south-east Asia and east Africa. The overall highest national incidence of poisoning was in Burkina Faso in west Africa, where nearly 84% of farmers and farm workers were reported to have experienced poisoning. Despite global efforts to highlight the dangers, pesticide use has continued to grow steadily, with 3.8m tonnes used in 2023, a doubling since 1990.
The study focused on acute pesticide poisoning, which is defined as any illness or health effect experienced a short time after exposure. Frequently observed symptoms include headaches, nausea, vomiting and skin rashes.
Pesticide exposure is also linked to longer-term health impacts. Hélène Nicora, the director general of Parkinson’s Europe, said there is “overwhelming evidence” to suggest that Parkinson’s is an environmentally driven disease, with growing evidence linking the condition to pesticide exposure.
Parkinson’s is a progressive disorder in which parts of the brain become damaged over time, affecting movement and balance. The global burden of the disease is rising, with France, Germany and Italy all recognising it as an occupational disease for farmers.
Speaking at a webinar organised by Friends of the Earth Europe earlier this year, Rendert Algra said he believed that his Parkinson’s disease was linked to the pesticides he used when working on his family farm in the Netherlands. “Being the eldest son, I did all the spraying of pesticides in our fields for several years in a row,” he said.
The authors of the study are calling for “immediate action”, including the implementation of a UN recommendation to phase out highly hazardous pesticides.
“Behind these staggering numbers are farmers, workers and families paying a terrible human price for pesticide exposure,” said Jayakumar Chelaton, executive director of the Pesticide Action Network India. “This research puts a human face on a crisis too often overlooked and makes clear that safer, non-chemical alternatives must become the priority to grow our food.”
Read more:
• Almost half of world’s farmers poisoned by pesticides every year, experts find
• Revealed: how Europe’s most powerful farming lobby killed EU’s pesticide law
• EU-approved pesticide found to have potential effects on brain development
Spraying pesticides on crops in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India. Photograph: Reuters
