Chapter 8 Pesticides : Environmental Impacts and Management Strategies

Increase in food production is the prime-most objective of all countries, as world population is expected to grow to nearly 10 billion by 2050. Based on evidence, world population is increasing by an estimated 97 million per year (Saravi and Shokrzadeh, 2011). The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has in-fact issued a sobering forecast that world food production needs to increase by 70%, in order to keep pace with the demand of growing population. However, increase in food production is faced with the ever-growing challenges especially the new area that can be increased for cultivation purposes is very limited (Saravi and Shokrzadeh, 2011). The increasing world population has therefore put a tremen‐ dous amount of pressure on the existing agricultural system so that food needs can be met from the same current resources like land, water etc. In the process of increasing crop pro‐ duction, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, nematicides, fertilizers and soil amendments are now being used in higher quantities than in the past. These chemicals have mainly come into the picture since the introduction of synthetic insecticides in 1940, when organochlorine (OCl) insecticides were first used for pest management. Before this introduction, most weeds, pests, insects and diseases were controlled using sustainable practices such as cultural, mechanical, and physical control strategies.