51�Թ�

In India, for example, an analysis published last month found a decline in pesticide suicides after a 2011 ban on endosulfan was largely offset by a parallel increase in hanging, the most common method of suicide in the country.

"This will result in losses to the processed coffee," he said, adding the infestation was the most serious since endosulfan was banned by Brazil's federal health agency in 2013.

That was controlled by using endosulfan, Souza said.

The alternatives to endosulfan are expensive and farmers' costs are rising, he added.

Categorized as a persistent organic polluter, endosulfan is on a list of 12 chemicals known as the "dirty dozen" that cause adverse effects on humans and the ecosystem.