CCFI seeks govt’s intervention for growth of agrochemicals sector
Policy

CCFI seeks govt’s intervention for growth of agrochemicals sector

We are capable of competing provided initially some duty draw back or rebate is granted to us like Chinese

  • By ICN Bureau | October 04, 2024

The Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) has urged the Govt. of India to support the Indian agrochemical sector with PLI scheme, incentives and expedite the registration process to accelerate the growth of the sector.

“We are the second largest in agricultural production inspite now being also the largest in global population. Generics now constitute an all-time high of 93% with only 7% as patented pesticides as new chemistry is beyond the reach to meet in terms of cost of cultivation,” said Deepak Shah, Chairman, CCFI at 61st AGM of the association adding that the registration process be expedited for the benefit of farming community.

Shah opined that nodal government ministries had taken several steps towards ease of doing business for agrochemicals. He assured to enhance productivity with focus on indigenous innovation & research.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajesh Aggarwal, Vice Chairman, CCFI informed that India has not only met the growing demand for food, it has also maintained buffer stocks for any contingency.

“Indian food produced is of high-quality, giving us the confidence that food grains , vegetables, fruits, milk and other consumables are safe for human consumption even if we eat raw or cooked. This was backed up by the data from All India Network Project on Pesticide Residues, state of the art govt agency, where in only 2.82% samples analysed over last 9 years had residues above the prescribed MRL, whereas 97.2 % of our agriculture commodities have MRL values within the prescribed limit, which is much lower in comparison to countries like USA, and the entire Europe,” Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal further said that the cost of manufacturing indigenously was 60-70% lower than the imported counterparts with quality matching global specifications, well accepted by over 152 countries where we are exporting. “The industry must be included under PLI scheme to boost domestic manufacturing, incentivise and reward Indian manufacturers and save valuable foreign exchange. We are capable of competing provided initially some duty draw back or rebate is granted to us like Chinese,” he urged the Govt.

R D Shroff, Chairman Emeritus, CCFI during his virtual address from Mumbai sought government’s intervention in curbing malicious propaganda by foreign funded NGOs to malign the positive work done by the Indian agrochemical industry. He referred to legal action and cases won against Greenpeace in their futile effort to stop use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

P Ganesan, Senior Policy Advisor, CCFI, clarified that data exclusivity is the right term, commonly highlighted as data protection where 20 years guaranteed period more than adequately compensates the inventor.

Dr JC Majumdar, Senior Scientific Advisor in his presentation took up technical issues plaguing the agrochemical industry and detailed on the progress on legal cases.

During the AGM, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, complimented CCFI for extensive field work and emphasised the need for joint working with the agrochemical fraternity. He looked forward to sorting out all pending common issues at the earliest.

Dr PK Singh. Agricultural Commissioner, emphasised the need for preparing and following guidelines for post-harvest interval (PHI) across crop segments. He wanted CCFI to prepare success stories of their members working with farmers so as to bring credibility and create positive perception among the scientific fraternity, bureaucrats, distributors and housewives.

Dr Archana Sinha, Secretary, CIB&RC assured the industry that registrations would be expedited and sought support for submitting complete documents by the applicants.

Dr Vandana Tripathy, Project Coordinator, All India Network Project on Pesticides Residues, was positive on undertaking more samples for testing on residues in food grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, spices etc. to build confidence with the consumers as they were well equipped for such studies.

A dossier on farmers training & awareness programs with the theme ‘Industry focus on promoting generic pesticides’ was released which was edited by Harish Mehta, Senior Advisor CCFI. This 90 page compilation has a variety of subjects, along with training programs conducted by us all across the country at 80 locations with support of Agricultural universities and state departments. A record number of 1, 50,000 PPE safety kits have been distributed free of cost, an unbeatable record by any association.

Nirmala Parhrawal, Executive Director, CCFI highlighted the pivotal role played by CCFI in minimising crop losses in field and storage. “This champion sector must be given support to bring in more investment crucial for India’s development, “Parhrawal said in her welcome speech.

Other Related stories

Startups

Chemical

Petrochemical

Energy

Digitization