If Delhi government has to make sure that residents don’t eat pesticide laced food, it will have to push neighboring states to reduce their pesticide usage. Most of Delhi’s fruits and vegetables come from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Agricultural experts say that while High Court-appointed panel’s recommendations on monitoring pesticide residue levels are welcome, much more needs to be done. According to the latest report of government’s All India Network Project On Pesticide Residues, most vegetables that were sourced from mandis — especially okra (bhindi), cabbage and cauliflower — were found to have pesticide residues higher than the maximum residue limit (MRL). The residues of cypermethrin and chlorpyriphos (a pesticide often linked to disorders in humans) were found to be most common in city vegetables. Kavita Kuruganti of the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture and India for Safe Food says Delhi doesn’t grow much of vegetables that we consume. “Government should appeal to the neighboring states to invest in sustainable agricultural practices. Farmers can wait till the effect of the pesticides wear out a bit,” she says. There are ‘waiting periods’ for each crop to avoid immediate consumption of pesticide-laced ones. For full story go to www.timesofindia.com