A study done by Icra has said that though chemical pesticides have contributed to India's growing food production, they have also paved the way for serious outbreaks of pests and diseases as well as damage to bio-diversity and the environment. Despite the use of pesticides, pest outbreaks continue in many crops and many pests like bollworms and whitefly in cotton, brown planthopper in rice, Spodoptera litura in groundnut have developed manifold resistance due to indiscriminate use of pesticides. It said that laboratory studies show that pesticides can cause health problems like birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time. The study further said,