A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health estimates that between 402 and 433 million farmers and farm workers are unintentionally poisoned by pesticides every year — roughly 46% of the global farming population of 934 million. The research, commissioned by Pesticide Action Network and drawing on data from 2006 to 2023, found the highest rates of poisoning in southern Asia, south-east Asia, and east Africa, with Burkina Faso (a landlocked country in West Africa) recording the highest national incidence at nearly 84%; India accounts for close to 60% of an estimated 11,000 annual deaths from pesticide poisoning. The authors are calling for immediate action, including a UN-recommended phase-out of highly hazardous pesticides, noting that global pesticide use has doubled since 1990 to 3.8 million tonnes in 2023, while warning that the study does not yet capture long-term health effects or the impact on the estimated 84 million children working in agriculture.