Strategic hazardous pesticide bans

Pesticides, a label which covers a wide range of compounds from insecticides and fungicides, to nematicides and plant growth regulators, are used extensively in agriculture to target and kill pests and thus increase yield quantity and quality. Yet in response to deleterious side effects of pesticide usage, bans on the use of hazardous pesticides have occurred at varying levels of governance. Approximately 2 million tonnes of pesticides are utilized annually, with herbicides making up almost half of that, followed by insecticides, fungicides, and then other pesticides. They are generally considered fairly economical and effective. Yet the toxicity of these chemicals to pests also makes them toxic to humans, and increasing public alarm is being raised on their use and their implications for health generally, but especially for the health of certain groups of people like farmworkers. Further, a range of other unintended consequences can occur, especially when pesticides are used in high quantities. For example, the microflora and microfauna of ecosystems are damaged by pesticides, and absorption of critical nutrients by plants is hindered by them as well.