Prof. Dr. Subodh Sharma, Head of the Department of DESE,  opened the symposium by welcoming the participants. Dr. Sharma also discussed the importance of the symposium. Dr. Bed Mani Dahal, Associate Professor at DESE and the organizing secretary, highlighted the objectives.

Forty-five people from more than fifteen organizations participated in the symposium. A total of eight papers were presented, which covered  diverse themes  such as pesticides use/misuse in Nepal, analysis techniques of pesticides, pesticides residue in agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, fish and crops), pesticides contamination in soil and water, and policy issues on pesticide pollution.