The Spices Board of India will start a campaign in the Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR) areas against the use of chemical pesticides in plantations as pesticide residues in the produce and by-products may hit export orders as well as internal market. A team of scientists and officers will visit 34 cardamom-growing villages to sensitise farmers in adopting better pest control measures in farming. This is to create a steady export and internal market to benefit the farmers as the European Union is firm on the quality of the produce, said a spices board official. Farmers due to ignorance use red-labelled and banned pesticides without adequate advice and pesticide residue in the produce would be a factor in determining the market in future. The campaigns will be conducted from August 18 to 22 and September 1 to 5. In the wake of the ban on Maggie noodles, stakeholders in the Indian cardamom sector are concerned over the high use of pesticides in farming. The board has constituted seven teams of scientists and officers for the programme, to be conducted at four to five locations in each village. Effective pest management without disturbing the ecosystem, reduced environmental pollution, and eliminating direct and indirect health hazards are the objectives of the programme.