Scientists affiliated to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) have developed an ‘anti-pesticide’ suit called Kisan Kavach. The suit is intended to protect farm labourers from imbibing the pesticides they spray which are potential neurotoxins and detrimental to health.
Farmers who spray insecticide or pesticides usually cover themselves from head to toe with ordinary cloth. This approach, said Dr Praveen Kumar Vemula, of inStem Bangalore, the DBT-affiliated organisation that developed the kit, wasn’t advisable. Cloth over time tended to accumulate high quantities of the poisonous chemicals that would eventually pass into the body. Moreover, field observations with farmers and workers revealed that many of them didn’t wear protective covering because it was uncomfortable and unsuitable for prolonged outdoor work.
Organophosphate (OP) and carbamate based-insecticides inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that has a crucial role in both central and peripheral nervous system. AChE inhibition leads to excessive acetylcholine accumulation, which affects muscarinic and nicotinic receptors at synapses.
Inhibition of AChE enzyme due to insecticide exposure causes neurological dysfunction, breathing disorder, paralysis, and death in severe cases.
“Pesticides are neurotoxins and don’t discriminate between pests and humans. The typical worker is actually working in a cloud of poisonous rain. Our field surveys, involving about 200 farmers in 60 villages, revealed that day-long spraying operations led to dizziness, vomiting, headaches but if concentrations are very high, it can even result in death,” Dr Vemula said at a press conference. “A recent study by the National Institute of Nutrition (Indian Council of Medical Research) showed that chronic exposure was linked to cancer,” he added.
To combine comfort, wearability and protection, Mr. Vemula and his colleagues used an Oxime-fabric to develop the bodysuit by covalently attaching silyl-pralidoxime to the cellulose of the fabric. The Oxime-fabric, when stitched as a bodysuit and facemask, efficiently deactivates insecticides (organophosphates and carbamates) upon contact, preventing exposure.
The Oxime-fabric prevents insecticide-induced neuronal damage, neuro-muscular dysfunction, and loss of endurance. When tested in mice model, 100% survival
rate was observed for repeated insecticide exposure. They have published results from tests on rodents to examine the degree of protection from the chemicals in the journal Nature Communications earlier this year.
On 17th December, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh unveiled Kisan Kavach, Bharat’s first anti-pesticide
bodysuit, designed to protect farmers from the harmful effects of pesticide exposure. This groundbreaking
innovation is a major step forward in ensuring farmer safety and empowers the agricultural community through science and technology, he said during press conferecnce. The event also marked the distribution of the first batch of Kisan Kavach suits to farmers, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding farmers.
