Indian Agrochemicals Corporates increase their spend on Research and Development

Agrochemicals Industry has been declared as a Champion sector and is one of those exclusive industries with a trade surplus of Rs 23158 Cr. during 2021-22 with exports of Rs 36521Cr as against inputs of Rs13363 Cr.

Pest and diseases dynamics are constantly changing and it becomes incumbent upon the industry to cater to the differing demands. The sector, therefore, is on the cusp of constantly changing technologies to suit the varied demands with R&D becoming a priority.

Crop protection chemicals are still the most extensively adopted management measure once the pest problem is reported with almost 70% of global market is dominated by generic pesticides.

At the same time, solid agrochemical formulations in crop protection (herbicide, insecticide, and fungicide) and seed treatment- formulations (insecticides, fungicide, and biocide) have been known for many years in the industry.

″Indian corporates have invested over Rs. 3000 Cr. on research and development, in terms of land, building, equipments, trials and registration. This is 5% of the turnover of the agrochemical  industry: a major increase in recent years. CCFI  members spend a lot of time on product nnovation and money on Research and Development to develop new technologies indigenously meeting the requirements of the farming community  ″ said by Harish Mehta Senior Advisor, CCFI.

On the one hand we’re looking at the government’s food security objectives given India’s vast agro climatic diversity, limited farmland, and growing population. Innovation powered by R&D, exports, and becoming a global supply manufacturing hub- the case for the crop protection chemicals sector is getting stronger with time.

″It also stands to support the objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat given our talent pool of qualified scientists and technicians, increasing investments and technological capabilities″ Mr Mehta added.