Department of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra and CropLife India raises awareness in Medical Fraternity

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 19 (ANI/NewsVoir):
, an association of 15 R&D driven crop science companies, in collaboration with Department of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra, today organized a Continuing Medical Education (CME) Program for the Doctors. The Program aimed at disseminating the information to the doctors and reorienting them on "Principles of Recognition and Treatment of Accidental Agro-chemical Exposure", ensuring medical practitioners are equipped to treat patients affected by Agro-chemical exposure.
The Virtual Conference was attended by around 1000 participants from government and private hospitals across three districts of Maharashtra - Yavatmal, Osmanabad and Jalgoan. The workshop was part of CropLife India's Stewardship program, which intends to guide the doctors to deal with accidental exposure incidents occurred during improper or unsafe application of Agro-chemicals.
Addressing the medical professionals, Dr. Debabrata Kanungo, MD, FCGP, International Expert (Medical Toxicology, Human Health Risk Assessment and Food safety), Former Additional Director General, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India and Former Chairman, Scientific Panel on Pesticide Residues at FSSAI, said, "CropLife India has a history of creating awareness and building capacity on sustainable practices to farmers through its Stewardship programs. CropLife India has been making a continuous effort through such programmes to reorient the doctors regarding the novel technologies of handling and managing exposure cases due to mishandling of Agro-chemicals. This Virtual Conference is an extension to the existing curriculum to support the farmer's community and help doctors in dealing with the basic treatment for accidental Agro-chemical exposure."
Sunil Borkar, Chief Quality Control Officer, Agriculture Department, Government of Maharashtra said, "Partnership of Government and industry have been proven to provide the requisite knowledge transfer to the farmers to ensure safe and judicious use of Agro-chemical products. Awareness generation amongst the Doctors will surely lead to timely intervention and management of farmers in case of any accidental exposure to pesticides. Our Government is committed towards the sustainable growth of agriculture and continuous cognizance of the medical fraternity will aid the process."
Asitava Sen, Chief Executive officer, CropLife India, added, "CropLife India is committed towards and has a long history for promoting safe and responsible use of crop protection products through Industry stewardship initiatives. It is widely understood that safe use of crop protection products helps safeguarding farmer's wellbeing and encourages sustainable agriculture."
CropLife India has developed a digital edition for Health Practitioners' Handbook which is hosted on our website. Medical Practioners are requested to visit the CropLife India website
and click on the 'Doctors' Manual' tab on top right corner.
Present in the Virtual Conference were Amol Yedge (IAS), District Collector, Yavatmal; Kaustaubh Diwegaonkar (IAS), District Magistrate & Collector, Osmanabad; Abhijit Raut (IAS), District Collector, Jalgoan; other senior Government officials and delegates from our member companies and industry.
CropLife India is committed to advancing sustainable agriculture and it is an association of 15 R&D driven member companies in crop protection. We jointly represent ~ 70% of the market and are responsible for 95% of the molecules introduced in the country. Our member companies have annual global R&D spend of 6 billion USD and are firmly committed to engaging with the farming community to enable Safe, Secure Food Supply.
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