Policy imperative to crop protection in Indian agriculture

By Valasubramanian Ramaiah, South Asia Regulatory and Stewardship Leader & APAC Genome Editing Policy Lead, Corteva Agriscience

Food and nutrition security is one of the foremost challenges of the 21st century. The world’s population is slated to touch 9.1 billion by 2050, leading to the increasing demand for food production, more so in developing economies where small holder farmers are predominantly present. As availability of productive agricultural land and other key resources are limited, government, policymakers, research, the private sector, and farmers need to look to adapt, innovate and foster practices that enable efficient use of scarce resources.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) estimates that global crop losses would double without crop protection, having deep detrimental impact on global food security. In India alone, farmers lose upto 25% of their yield to pests and insects. Safe and judicious crop protection (CP) is necessary to secure the future of food, critical as a tool to weather against climate change-effects on crops and an enabler of economic growth and sustainable agricultural productivity. All three factors assume great importance in the specific context of Indian agriculture. Agriculture is foundational to the Indian economy, making up 18% of the GDP and employing almost 58% of the population. India holds immense potential in emerging as an agricultural superpower or annadata to not only its citizens but to the world at large as well. Policy orientation dedicated to ensuring and sustain safe and judicious use of CP products is critical for the continued growth of Indian agriculture. Further, the policy interventions must be complemented with a concerted focus on a generating awareness about the importance of safe, judicious, and appropriate usage of crop protection implements among all stakeholders in the value chain.

Agricultural productivity: Towards securing domestic food security and building export resilience in Agri-sector

India is a top producer and exporter of a diverse variety of important crops ranging from pulses and jute to wheat, rice, cotton, fruits, and vegetables. India’s agri-exports have been growing from strength to strength, touching the highest ever level at USD 50.21 billion in 2021-22. In 2023, so far, non-basmati rice, sugar, basmati rice, and spices have been the top exported commodities from India.

A conundrum emerges here where, although India’s domestic use of CP products per hectare is low, there are instances of improper and excessive usage of CP, at the wrong stages and in many cases without proper safety equipment. Lack of farmer awareness on appropriate, safe and judicious use of CP has ripple effects across farmer health and wellbeing, agri-productivity and profitability as well as cases of India’s exports being rejected in some cases due to high levels of residue in Indian crops, most notably in the case of basmati rice exported to the EU region.

Prevalent challenges in uptake of CP

Critical gaps in awareness

Lack of full awareness on which CP implements to use on crops, and guidelines on safe usage of CP have been critical gaps affecting the farmers. Farmers often use spurious crop protection

implements, as they are unaware of which products to rely on and trust ground-level spurious dealers. This adversely affects not only the plant health, but also farmer health and crop productivity.

Policy and regulatory challenges

When it comes to the policy and regulatory landscape, the policy and regulatory landscape with respect to CP is dated, with India regulating pesticides under the 1968 Insecticides Act and the Insecticide Rules of 1971. A new Pesticides Management Bill 2020 has been drafted to replace these laws and rules. The Pesticides Management Bill 2020 needs to be enacted because Insecticides Act 1968 and Insecticide Rules are dated in terms of recognizing new pesticide molecules, and do not address the present realities and needs.

Moreover, the policy and regulatory ecosystem is asynchronous to the discoveries of the science communities and ground-level realities, where often policy and scientific developments do not correlate with the ground realities. These further impacts use and uptake of CP in India.

Crop Protection is a critical tool to secure our collective food future, inject profitability into Indian agriculture and enable India to emerge as a leader in agri-exports. Thus, there must be concerted efforts on building awareness and myth-busting, a renewed focus on policy and regulatory mechanism governing CP in India as well as sustained dialogues among key stakeholders, with the farmer-focused stewardship to reap the benefits of crop protection in Indian agriculture.

Farmer stewardship and sustained multi-stakeholder dialogue: Need of the Hour

Awareness campaigns & myth busting – A united approach

First and foremost, a united approach, by key stakeholders such as government, research community, agriscience companies and Farmer Producer Organizations with the intent of building awareness on proper usage of crop protection and myth-busting is essential. Farmers must specifically be made aware on which crop protection inputs to use when, how to ensure safe usage and how to avoid spurious implements through regular training and awareness workshops organized by both, the public and private sectors.

Equally important is to dispel common myths and misconceptions on CP usage among the farming community. Sustained dialogue with the government anchored by the private sector and research community is integral for the same. Farmer-focused stewardship is vital to increase uptake of genuine crop protection products as well as foster safe and appropriate usage of the implements by farmers.

Inject renewed vigor into the policy and regulatory landscape

The policy and regulatory ecosystem governing the use of crop protection inputs must be brought into the 21st century through the enactment of the Pesticide Management Bill 2020. The Bill, when passed will be instrumental to regulate the production of pesticides and check the sale of spurious products.

The Pesticide Management Bill 2020 will guarantee farmers' access to pertinent and essential information concerning all pesticides on the market, including their advantages and disadvantages, hazards, and substitute products. Farmers will also be able to control the use of pesticides to comply with the maximum residual levels (MRL) allowed in important export markets owing to the comprehensive information supplied for each product.

The Indian government is actively focusing on boosting the agricultural sector with the right policy interventions, and in this regard a science-based, progressive, and predictive regulatory regime will enable the sector to achieve its true potential while encouraging effective and judicious use of inputs. To complement the developments in building awareness and in the policy space, sustained dialogues among key stakeholders, with open channels of communication is critical. Farmers, agricultural scientists, policymakers, agribusinesses, and civil society must engage in an ongoing conversation that transcends barriers, fosters innovation, and prioritizes national interest. This will build trust among key stakeholders, and at a farmer level ensure increased uptake of crop protection, with focus on their safe and judicious usage.

Crop Protection to secure the future of food

Crop protection products are critical to secure the future of food, combat against climate uncertainty and inject profitability in Indian agriculture, in domestic and export markets. As the nation grapples with the ever-mounting challenges of feeding its burgeoning population while coping with the uncertainties brought about by climate change, the imperative for safeguarding our crops has never been greater. Crop protection measures, act as the frontline defense against yield losses and the devastation of farmer livelihoods. However, successful crop protection necessitates sustained conversations among key stakeholders, to ensure flexibility and relevance of policy interventions. Equally vital is the cultivation of farmer stewardship, where farmers play an active role in ensuring the sustainable protection of their crops.

In this regard, awareness, policy orientation and concerted multi-stakeholder dialogue focused on safe, appropriate, and judicious usage of crop protection products is critical to ensure farmer wellbeing, environmental wellbeing as well as realize sustained economic growth in the agricultural sector.