Indian Government clears 24 out of 27 generic pesticides after data evaluation by expert technical committee

The Central Government after considering the report of the Expert Committee and after consultation with the Registration Committee concluded that the use of three pesticides Dicofol, Dinocap, and Methomyl be discontinued  due to the non-availability of data on safety and efficacy.

The original notification had listed the cause for banning of the 27 pesticides, ranging from endocrine disruption, being toxic for aquatic organisms, birds, and honey bees. However, these aspects were examined by the technical expert committee headed by Dr. T.P Rajendran which considered extensive data submitted by individual companies and associations to arrive at their conclusion.

The decision of the Ministry of Agriculture to ban 3 out of 27 pesticides has been a great relief for both the farming community and the agrochemical industry. The three pesticides banned are Dicofol, Dinocap, and Methomyl. The companies manufacturing these pesticides didn’t push to defend them as there are better alternatives available.

The Central Government issued a notification on 2nd Feb 2023 to prohibit these three pesticides for registration, import, manufacture, formulation, transport, sale, and use.

In addition to the three being banned, the central government on the recommendation of the expert committee decided to remove a few selected crops from the label claim for which the bio-efficacy and residue data was not available.

The 8 pesticides for which there is a change in label claim are Carbofuran, Malathion, Monocrotophos, Quinalphos, Mancozeb, Oxyfluorfen, Dimethoate, and Chlorpyriphos.
             
Kharif or the monsoon season is a major agriculture season in India accounting for 65% of cultivation spent for Indian farmers.  In the global market, generic molecules continue to dominate with over 70% market share, which is also the trend in India.  With continuation of these key 24 pesticides, the availability would increase & also ensure reasonable price, as compared with imported counterparts. This would facilitate in keeping cost of cultivation low. These products are recommended by most of the state Agricultural universities and are part of their package of practices as per industry experts.

The agriculture sector in India is growing year after year with the hard labour of farmers, the proficiency of scientists, the technological intervention of the private sector, farm mechanisation and the farmer-friendly policies of the Government. The second advance estimate of production of major crops released earlier this year by the ministry for 2022-23 is estimated to be 323.5 million tonnes which is higher by 7.9 million tonnes of the previous year with a record production of Rice at 130.8 million tonnes and Maize at 34.6 million tonnes.

However the Supreme Court on 27th March2023 had asked the Central Government to justify the ban on three pesticides out of the proposed 27 pesticides. A petition filed by an NGO is seeking a ban on all 27 pesticides. This would be heard with justification by the central government on 28th April 2023.

″To understand the the issue for example, India is using only 62,000  tons of pesticide and producing  $ 534 billion worth of agriculture whereas Europe who advocates us to reduce use of pesticides are consuming 3,45,000 tons of pesticide with EU production of agriculture is $ 240 billion,″ commented Mr. Harish Mehta, senior advisor from CCFI.

In conclusion

The approved list includes widely used pesticides and a majority with no alternatives or substitutes. All these pesticides have been used by Indian farmers for the last 5 decades. The ban could have even impacted emergency control of invasive pests like locusts which entered India in September 2020 Their use by Government and private sector ensured in controlling this National menace.  The 27 molecules cumulatively have over 130 formulations and combinations with a business value of about Rs. 15,500 crores including exports.

The complete list of 27 pesticides has Insecticides: Acephate, Benfuracarb, Carbofuran, Chlorpyriphos, Deltamethrin, Dicofol, Dimethoate, Malathion, Methomyl, Monocrotophos, Thiodicarb, and Quinalphos;

Herbicides: Atrazine, 2,4-D, Diuron, Butachlor, Oxyfluorfen, Pendimethalin, and Sulfosulfuron;

Fungicides: Carbendazim, Captan, Dinocap, Mancozeb, Thiophanate methyl, Thiram, Ziram, and Zineb.