Women Farming in India (© Nikhil Gangavane | Dreamstime.com)

An alarming report from BBC News has cited a study conducted in India that has produced evidence that pesticides have damaged the DNA of farmers in that country, making them more likely to develop cancer.

The study was undertaken by scientists at Patiala University, Punjab state, who tracked a group of farmers for several months.

According to the report, “Salil Singhal of the industry trade association, the Crop Care Federation of India, said that this causal link could not be possible.”

But the BBC News correspondent found that farmers needed to use the sprays much more often than the Crop Care Federation says is necessary to control pests. And “One farmer, who said that he was spraying night and day, does have cancer.”

The report states that declining crop yields in Asia and a potential threat to human health from pesticides raises “questions over whether intensive farming like this is sustainable.”

If you’d like to read the BBC News report cited above go to: DNA damage 'caused by pesticides'