Guest Author: Mr. Harish Mehta, Senior Advisor, Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI)
18 October 2022, New Delhi: Agrochemicals Industry in India has been declared as a champion sector and is one of those exclusive industries with a trade surplus of Rs 23,158 crores during 2021-22 with exports of Rs 36,521 crore as against inputs of Rs 13,363 crores.
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 when a pest problem is reported. Within the sector, about 70% of global market is dominated by generic pesticides.
Agrochemical formulations in seed treatment and crop protection (herbicide, insecticide, fungicide and biocide) have been known for many years in the industry.
Indian corporates have invested over Rs. 3,000 crores on research and development, in terms of land, building, equipments, trials and registration. This is 5% of the turnover of the agrochemical industry which is a major increase in recent years. CCFI members spend a lot of time on product innovation and money on Research and Development to bring out new technologies indigenously meeting the requirements of the farming community.
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 India 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.
