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The list of concerns includes withering land, chronic illnesses, water shortages and an opioid drug epidemic that has wreaked havoc on village life. Over the past two years, more than 900 Punjabi farmers have killed themselves, and the state has the highest rates of cancer in India. A government survey estimates that more than two-thirds of households have at least one drug addict in the family. Added to this is the burden of paying off loans that many farmers take out from unofficial lenders at exorbitant interest rates. Locals blame it all on “zeher” – poison.

“Our lives are being destroyed because of the contamination of the land and people,” says Surinder Kumar, the “sarpanch” or village head of Langroya. “There are so many problems facing us that I don’t even know where to begin. The politicians make a lot of promises, but the reality is that little is being done to help us. The very fabric of our existence is under threat.” In an attempt to address Punjab’s plight, a new film explores the roots of its problems. Directed by Rehmat Rayatt and Leva Kwestany, Toxification tells the moving stories of farmers at the sharp end of the chemical epidemic engulfing the state... 

The film traces the roots of Punjab’s demise to the state’s green revolution of the 1970s, when new farming practices were introduced to increase production and profits. This involved the sustained use of chemical pesticides, insecticides and fertilisers, which has continued unchecked and without adequate guidance from experts. Punjab utilises the highest amount of chemical fertilisers in India. Many of the pesticides sprayed on the state’s crops are classified as class I by the World Health Organization because of their acute toxicity and are banned in places around the world, including Europe.

The Indian state where farmers sow the seeds of death | Global development | The Guardian