The excessive use of pesticides by farmers in India is hindering the country’s efforts to penetrate the global market for fruits and vegetables in a big way, according to Sreejith Aravindakshan from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Talking to The Hindu here on Sunday, Dr. Aravindakshan, who was here to participate in the National Biodiversity Congress, said India’s horticultural exports to northern Europe were largely constrained by the inability of the smallholder-dominated production system to meet western food safety standards marked by low tolerance for pesticide residue.