FMC India, Maha govt promote safe agrochemical use among Akola farmers

FMC India, an agricultural sciences company, concluded a safety awareness program for the farming community in Akola district in Maharashtra on using agrochemicals in a safe and judicious manner, in partnership with the state Agriculture Department.

The program educated doctors in the district to recognise symptoms of agrochemical poisoning and treat chemical exposed patients effectively. The safety awareness program covered 7,500 farmers and 80 doctors. It saw participation of senior Maharashtra government officials, the district health officer, and Dr. Jay Shah from the FMC Poison Control Center.

The workshop was aimed at preparing the medical community in rural Maharashtra, which has experienced a steady stream of reports of exposure cases in recent years. This was done by teaching local physicians the fundamentals of treating accidental pesticide exposure.  

FMC India started the awareness program in 2020 in Akola district to promote the adoption of safe agricultural practices and prevent accidental cases of agrochemical poisoning amongst the farming community. This year, the workshop was attended by more than 75 doctors operating across Akola, including the District Agriculture Officer and the District Health Officer with their respective teams, according to a press note.

Ravi Annavarapu, President, FMC India said, “FMC India has always demonstrated a strong commitment to the well-being of India's farming community. Through this safety awareness program, we want to improve farmers’ awareness and knowledge of using agrochemicals in a safe manner, while preventing accidental poisoning. Every year, FMC provides more than a million farmers in India with training on the responsible and safe use of pesticides. We believed it was appropriate to provide local physicians with the same training in order to assist them in detecting and treating any cases of pesticide exposure. We will steadily scale up the program to reach the wider farming community in the state.” 

FMC India has a track record in supporting the farming community through initiatives and outreach programs like Project Samarth (Safe Water Initiative), UGAM (promotion of good soil health practices), and Project Madhushakti (collaboration with GB Pant University to develop entrepreneurship among rural women through bee-keeping), the press note said.