Farmers risk their health to use pesticides on crops.
His face red and swollen, the Zambian farm worker takes a break beside the cotton field. The weather is hot and the sweat makes him grimace as it intensifies the burning sensation in his cheeks. It is the time when cotton plants are sprayed and the insecticide used is a poisonous chemical from the pyrethroid family. Although pyrethroid compounds are well known for not leaving any residue in the environment after 24 hours, the farm worker's burning sensation, caused by the insecticide, is unpleasant. However, the worker only began spraying half an hour ago.