by IRIN

MULTAN - Last month, Saira, six, died in Jehanian, a village near Multan in the southern Pakistani province of Punjab. The area is best known for its high quality mangoes and for its cotton, the country's most important cash crop.

Doctors in the village seem uncertain over what caused the child's death – but her grief-stricken parents are sure. "It was the chemicals in the pesticides. She came with me sometimes to work in the fields, and those chemicals killed her," said Saira's father, Anwar.

Anwar and his wife Uzma, like many other parents across Punjab, believe the worsening health of many children is caused by pesticides and their widespread misuse.

While the arrival of modern pesticides has revolutionised agriculture, boosting production many times over and making it possible to feed a growing population, the health impact of the chemicals is a source of growing concern.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Office for Asia-Pacific in the Thai capital, Bangkok, every year chemical pesticides worth some US $2.5 billion are sold in countries in the region.

Many of these pesticides – such as DDT, chlordane and heptachlor – which are regularly imported by countries in Asia, are banned or restricted in the countries of manufacture for health and environmental safety reasons.

Since 1994, the FAO has been running a programme to raise awareness about such pesticides, with Pakistan among the targeted countries. Studies conducted in Indian Punjab, just across the border, including one carried out in 2003 by the international environmental pressure group, Greenpeace, titled 'Arrested Development', linked pesticide use to high rates of childhood cancers, respiratory problems, mental development problems and other diseases.

Many identical pesticides are used in Pakistan. Doctors who treated little Saira believe she may have suffered blood cancer, but maintain they do not have the diagnostic facilities necessary to reach a definite verdict.

Doctors at Multan's Nishtar hospital, the largest facility in southern Punjab, said: "There is a definite increase in children, and also adults, suffering illnesses apparently linked to exposure to dangerous chemicals from pesticides."

Evidence from across the country suggests that farm workers who ingest pesticide toxins while spraying them on crops or working in fields are facing growing ill health. Pesticide residues have also been found in the human food chain, threatening consumers.

Misuse of pesticides, including highly toxic pesticides meant for crops such as cotton being used on food crops, and the failure of agricultural workers to adopt safety measures, such as wearing masks while spraying fields – either due to a lack of awareness or the lack of availability of such items - are all factors contributing to the increase in health problems.

"You can taste the chemicals when you bite into an apple or a guava. It tastes like chlorine. These toxins are obviously present in the fruit, and even mangoes are not natural now, as they were when we were kids," said Sultan Mahmood, a manager of a Multan grocery shop.

Chemicals used to artificially ripen fruits such as mangoes are also blamed for the poisons many believe are present in the fruit, which can be seen on some products as a whitish residue on the surface.

An April 2005 study published in the Pakistan Medical Sciences Journal reported that out of a total of 578 patients admitted to Nishtar hospital between 1996 and 2000 with chemical poisoning, about 64 percent were victims of organic pesticide poisoning. Of these around 73 percent were males and 27 percent females.

In another study by Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Dr Tariq Awan, who compiled the survey, found that in the southern Punjab and Sindh provinces during the cotton-picking season, many women reported a variety of diseases not seen at other times of the year – pesticides were suggested as the cause.

Research on the issue is limited, observers say. "In the first place, interest in the whole subject area is limited. Secondly, as far as conducting a study is concerned, the multinationals marketing their products in the country actively discourage it, and they have a huge lobby," environmental scientist, Dr Farooq Pervaiz, said.

However, public awareness in Pakistan is growing, particularly after reports last year that sub-soil water in the Lahore area contained high levels of potentially lethal arsenic, due to the leaching of residue from pesticides and fertilisers.

As a consequence, organic farming is growing in popularity in Punjab province. Rafiq Ahmed, who manages an organic food shop in Lahore explained: "The demand is growing by the day. Sometimes we just can't keep up with it."

But growing crops organically is complicated and fraught with problems. "Pesticides are in such heavy use that the insects invade any area where they are not in use and thus destroy crops grown without pesticides in days," said Samina Qamar, who has tried her hand at growing organic wheat to sell at her farm on the outskirts of Lahore.

The government accepts pesticide use needs more careful regulation. "The age of pesticides is here to stay. We can't manage without them, so we need to see how to use them properly. We are willing to conduct research on this," Punjab agriculture minister, Arshad Khan Lodhi, said.

Other semi-autonomous organisations, such as the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), based in the capital, Islamabad, have also been working on ways to tackle the pesticide menace. "We believe it is useful to explore indigenous herbs that can be made to produce safe pesticides," a spokesman at the organisation said.