World Bank warns about human toll from pesticides

The World Bank said that overuse of chemical pesticides in developing countries contributes to costly health problems, questioning whether the risks of using pesticides without adequate safety precautions outweights the benefits.  Additionally, excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizer has a signifcant negative impact on global warming, due to agriculture's contribution of non-carbon dioxide emssions.
In its recent World Development Report-2008, it said, "many farmers in developing countries overuse pesticides and do not take proper safety precautions because they do not understand the risks and fear smaller harvests."  Making matters worse, developing countries seldom have strong regulatory systems for dangerous chemicals. Pesticides banned or restricted in industrial countries are used widely in developing countries.
The report also said that natural control and integrated pest management showed promise as an alternative to chemical herbicides. Farmers who focused on naturally preventing or suppressing pests and used pesticides only when necessary substantially reduced exposure while maintaining yields and increasing profitability.
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