IMPACT OF AGRO-CHEMICALS ON ENVIRONMENT: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Agro-chemicals were initially considered as a boon that helped the globe fighting against famine and vade of food insecurity. Agro-chemicals in form of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides helped in increasing crop productivity and protect crop from herbivore pests and phytopathogens respectively. However continuous and unscrupulous use of agro-chemicals have aggravated problems such as deterioration of soil sterility, pesticide resistance, pest resurgence, natural enemy destruction, drug resistant phytopathogens, human health hazard, diseases and disorders of human limbs, destruction of native flora and fauna, problems associated with bioaccumulation and biomagnification, environmental pollution, climate change etc., posing an alarmingly serious threat to life and sustainability on earth surface. Research focus on identification and use of eco-friendly crop production system and crop protection agents, pollution remediation techniques, transfer of clean green technology from lab to land, creating awareness of food safety and security among the consumers, and educating the farmers on the necessity to replace synthetic chemicals by environment friendly, reliable technologies which are cost-effective to boost up and sustain crop production to feed the growing population of the world is the need of recent hours. This will sustain the productivity of earth and help in peaceful sustenance of life on earth.