The evolution of agrochemicals in less harmful and safer versions much required for transition towards sustainable agricultural practices
While agrochemicals have played a crucial role in increasing agricultural productivity, their overuse has led to environmental degradation, soil depletion, and concerns over human health. Climate change exacerbates these challenges, as rising temperatures accelerate pest resistance, alter soil nutrient cycles, and increase the frequency of plant diseases. This calls for a fundamental shift in how agrochemicals are developed, applied, and integrated into sustainable farming practices.
In this context, the experts spoke on the topic, ‘Sustainable Agriculture, Climate Change and its Impact on Agrochemicals’ at the fifth session of the second edition of AgroChem Summit 2024 organized by the Indian Chemical News in New Delhi on December 13, 2024.
The session was moderated by Murari Mohan Jha, Editor, Indian Chemical News.
Sharing his thoughts on the impact of climate change and emerging trends in agrochemicals, Mithilesh Kumar, Associate Director, Accenture Technology informed, “The moment we have excessive rain or deviation in summer patterns, the agrochemical companies are challenged with two things. Number one, how do we really predict the seasonality of the demand because you do not really predict the rain and we are still a very water dependent economy and in terms of land also. Therefore, there is a lot of guessing and that actually puts a lot of pressure and uncertainty into how you will really plan your crop cycle and therefore, how will you plan the production and sale.
“The second element is the focus on yield but I would like to add that there has to be the focus on nutrition as well. We have seen a shift in the climate pattern. Taking an example of one of the clients, we have worked in Australia where there was a drought situation and they were pretty much steering at an inventory but access was difficult due to working capital issues.”
“When it comes to really promoting the usage of biopesticides, unless there are incentives given to the farmers, they will not really roll up their sleeves. In Canada, they give farmers the loan with flexibility to pick their payment terms. As your yield shifts, you have the flexibility to adjust that. With the Indian agriculture system facing certain challenges, the farm robotics companies can play a critical role. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AIML) can do wonders. BASF is doing a lot of these in Germany and Mexico where you have sensors placed to really understand if the color of the leaf has a certain texture. If certain spot has gotten pale yellow or pale red, it will immediately point out the nitrogen or other nutrient deficiency. Also, integrated solutions such as robotics can play a crucial role in finding out the specific problem areas in the field, thus limiting application of agrochemical sprays. With no need to cover the entire crop area, it helps in optimizing the use.”
Prof. Baishnab Charan Tripathy, J. C. Bose National Fellow, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University said, “Changing weather patterns were seen earlier also and it will continue to happen. Earlier it was about the minor changes but this has now really gone too far as we have almost destroyed 20% of soil health, and a lot of water reserves besides the burning of fossil fuel.
“The carbon dioxide is stored in the tree trunks for decades as carbohydrates and thus became the sink for C02 but with deforestation and forest fires, the same is being emitted back into the environment. This has changed the climate patterns and led to global warming. To address the same, there are crops that can tolerate high temperature and use less water such as millet, maize and other C4 crops.
“We should nurture them instead of waiting for the development of genetically engineered crops. We should work on these naturally growing crops for a better future.
“It is the time to shift to biodegradable pesticides as these don’t stay in the environment for long. We can design better pesticides of the future. Another is improvement in fertilizers and incorporation of bio-fertilizers which can be manufactured by agrochemical companies as well. The use of urea excessively would mean its emission in the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, this making it more worse than carbon dioxide.
“Besides the judicious use of fertilizers, the government can provide incentives to farmers to promote good agriculture practices. Urea might be a little cheaper and bio-fertilizers a bit expensive but with a little financial encouragement, many farmers might adopt the newer options.
“Equally important is growing the crops in the right environment. For example, there is no need for growing rice in Punjab where there is scarcity of water. Government must regulate this aspect,” added Prof. Tripathy.
Dr. Shailendra Singh, Chief Operating Officer - Agribusiness, Zydex Industries Pvt. Ltd. Said, “When it comes to the point of sustainability, many times a lot of people have different views about the agrochemicals, few calling these as saviors and others describing them in negative light. But I think it is the technological advancement of agrochemicals that has brought the situation where we are net exporter of almost a lot of food items.
“At the same time, somewhere this is also impacting the climate and climate change. Few products which fall in the PGR or PGPR categories are actually help in managing the stress.
“It is not only the pest control but with the changing climatic conditions, you are seeing new weeds are coming up. Now if you don't control them, your production is going to be down significantly. Therefore, a balanced and judicious use of agrochemicals is a must. To work towards elimination of the harmful aspects, we can bring in more safer chemicals, maybe we can bring more biological oriented chemicals.”
“I keep on meeting various scientists and government extension people and you would be surprised to know that many of them still recommend monocrotophos. Five decades later now, there are no protocols as such being used. The industry is continuously working on improving the situation. If you really look at the extension network, which currently operates in the Indian agriculture scenario, I would say that 70% of credible information goes through the industry. Through this activity, industry also does employment generation with about 3 lakh plus people being used for the extension, providing right information to the farmer in his field and home.
“Only challenge is that often these workers are trained for specific product or a specific situation and might not be able to provide a holistic solution in a more complex scenario. Therefore, a little more effort is required by the industry to provide the holistic information and the latest updates that would help.”
AgroChem Summit 2024 themed ‘Capturing Value Through Collaboration, Innovation & Disruption’ was supported by the industry associations including ACFI, BASAI, Croplife India, CCFI and PMFAI. The Gold Partners of the event were Corteva Agriscience and Godrej Agrovet. The Associate Partner was Bayer Limited.
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