Just 1 kg of thin mulching sheets is enough to cover and contaminate as much as 700 square feet of agricultural land
Photo: iStock. Plastics have caused an agricultural mirage in India today. The agrifood system is increasingly becoming dependent on plastics. Agricultural value chains used 12.5 million tonnes of plastic products globally in 2019, reported the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
FAO expressed its pressing concerns about the increasing use of plastics in agriculture. Their report sought attention to the higher amount of microplastics in the soils than in the oceans. Moreover, it also foregrounds the urgent need for improved handling and regulation of the millions of tonnes of microplastics generated through food and other agricultural activities.
Around 99 per cent of plastic is produced from fossil fuels by refining oil, natural gas, or coal. The petrochemicals then produced are processed to make everyday commodities like plastics, agricultural pesticides and industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, synthetic fibre and rubber, among other materials.
The proliferation of plasticulture, a term used to represent the application of plastics in the agricultural sector, endangers soil, biodiversity and human health.
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In the farming sector, plastics are used to pack seeds and fertilisers in single-use plastic sachets, sacks and plastic containers; seedling trays, mulching film, greenhouse film, protective nets, drip irrigation tapes and irrigation pipes used in farming are all made of toxic plastics.
Some of the main polymers found in these plastic products include polyethylene, polypropylene, expanded polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene terephthalate.
Scientists have discovered that as time passes, the additives and chemicals embedded in mulch films can gradually diminish soil porosity and hinder air circulation. Moreover, it also has the capacity to alter microbial communities, thereby reducing farmland fertility.
Evidence indicates the leaching of potentially carcinogenic chemicals, specifically phthalate acid esters, from plastic films into farm soil. The plastic mulch films mentioned here are primarily made of PVCs or low-density polyethylene.
Apart from plastic mulch films, PVCs also find their use in irrigation pipes and drip tapes. PVC is called ‘poison plastic’, as it releases toxic chlorine-based chemicals and is a known carcinogen.
The scientific community, along with civil society activists, has expressed significant apprehension regarding the alarming toxic potentials associated with PVC plastics.
In 2013, Chelsea Rochman, a scientist specialising in the investigation of chemical migration from plastics when consumed by animals, has argued for the reclassification of certain significant plastics as hazardous materials. This reclassification would facilitate regulation by environmental protection agencies. The plastics in question include PVC, polyurethane, polycarbonate and polystyrene.
The ‘Green Revolution’ began in India in the 1960s. Hailed as the architect of India’s green revolution, MS Swaminathan joined hands with Norman Borlaug to increase India’s agricultural production using modern technologies (read pesticides, herbicides and suicides).
However, apart from reaping high yields of the crops, the farmers also started reaping cancer. So much so that a few decades into the ‘Green Revolution’, Punjab earned the dubious distinction of becoming the “cancer capital” of India.
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Apart from the health impacts, the ‘Green Revolution’ also led to soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and polluted waterways. Closely following the heels of the ‘Green Revolution’ came the ‘White Revolution’, with the aim of boosting milk production in India. It has led to similar distressing stories.
The application of plastics in the agriculture sector is hailed to contribute towards the ‘Second Green Revolution’ in the country. However, the plasticulture advocated by a few powerful agrocrats has led to microplastics entering every living organism on the planet and chemicals used in these plastics have leached into the most pristine environments.
These agricultural sector revolutions were meant to achieve food security and fulfil the demand of a growing population. However, the growing population of the country needs safe and nutritious food to maintain health and well-being.
The farmers need fertile soil to grow food. On the contrary, people now have less access to chemical-free foods, and soil is becoming poisoned due to the application of chemicals and plastics. This eventually threatens the whole ecosystem. Irrespective of the colour that plastics embrace to sell itself, history will repeat itself and devastation for the human race is guaranteed!
When it comes to addressing the issue of plastic pollution, academicians, government departments and industries seem to work not just in silos but in hostility.
While some researchers are creating new evidence against the use of plastics in agriculture, the plastics industry maintains a deafening silence while promoting its own studies on how plastics boost yields, save water, reduce fertilisers, and cut labour. Furthermore, it has a strong lobby to influence the government.
While the Centre banned single-use carry bags with less than 120 microns, it provided a 50 per cent subsidy for using single-use mulching sheets as thin as 15 microns.
Just one kilogram of these thin mulching sheets is enough to cover and contaminate as much as 700 square feet of agricultural land. Plastics are being promoted by the industries through several government bodies including the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), National Horticulture Board, Department of Agriculture Research and Development, India Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), etc.
Furthermore, to promote the use of plastics, MoA&FW constituted National Committee on Plasticulture Applications in Horticulture (NCPAH) in 2001, which was later renamed as National Committee On Precision Agriculture & Horticulture.
Currently, 22 Precision Farming Development Centres have been established to promote the use of plastics in horticulture. These centres are responsible for conducting different activities such as workshops, training, awareness programs, use of audio-visual mediums, etc., to influence the farmers to adopt plasticulture.
At this year’s Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC), the Union minister of petroleum and natural gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, shared that the demand for chemicals and petrochemicals in India is expected to reach US$ 1 trillion by 2040.
Growth in the petrochemical industry will also boost plasticulture practices in the country. The fossil fuel and petrochemical industry is careful by placing their eggs in different baskets, and agriculture is one of them.
There are no prizes for guessing the fate of agricultural plastics at end-of-life. Let alone plastic waste management; India does not even have a proper system to manage its biodegradable waste in over 90 per cent of its villages. About 67 per cent of the people in villages preferred to burn household plastic waste, according to the findings of a survey released in 2022.
Management of agricultural plastic waste is non-existent. Most ‘agro plastics’ have a limited lifetime (less than a year). Farmers can “manage” their land in two ways: Burning or burying.
When plastics are burned, they emit hazardous substances such as dioxins and furans, which cause cancer. Burying of plastics releases microplastics which impact human health when agricultural produce is consumed. Thus, plastics have become immortal and omnipresent. Burning it or burying it doesn’t matter.
Nothing less than an outright ban on non-essential agri plastics is the way forward. Countries like India have pioneered sustainable agricultural practices using locally available and eco-friendly materials. Also, we need to invoke a new ‘Extended Legislature Responsibility’ clause where the people who have been given the mandate by the citizens take concrete measures to safeguard the planet from the hazards of plastic in agriculture.
Views expressed are the authors’ own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth
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