Rautahat, June 21: Farmers here who are more attracted toward cash crops than cereal crops have been using pesticides to a greater extent in their vegetable cultivation.

According to the district administration office, Rautahat, about 60 percent of the farmers here use pesticides.

However, the consumption of vegetables within a few days after spraying with pesticides may have an adverse impact on public health.

Such vegetables are suitable for consumption only 31 days after the pesticide spraying and the office is launching an awareness drive among farmers in the near future, office chief Raj Narayan Das said.

Meanwhile, a 2-day soil test camp organised joinly by the regional soil test laboratory Birgunj and the agricultural development office, Rautahat concluded here recently.