Indian Farmers Face Counterfeit Pesticides

NEW DELHI –- Indian farmers spend about US$2.6 billion on unregistered or counterfeit chemicals. The untested and unregulated products in turn cause about $1.3 billion in crop damage, according to a new report by the Agrochemicals Policy Group (APG).

Indeed, a sizeable number of suicides by cotton growers in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and other states over the past few years have been attributed to the use of spurious pesticides that caused widespread crop losses.

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These inferior chemicals are sold predominantly in under-developed markets, including eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, but they are readily available throughout the country, according to APG.

APG attributes the thriving spurious pesticides market to inadequate legal and other preventive action by the authorities concerned against manufacturers and traders of fake and inferior pesticides.

India’s pesticides industry is overseen by the Central Insecticides Board (CIB), a regulator created under the Insecticides Act of 1968. It is also responsible for the registration of agrochemicals.

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The state agricultural departments are also involved in enforcing the Insecticides Act in terms of issuing manufacturing licences, environmental clearances and monitoring the distribution and quality of the products. APG says corruption could be a reason that counterfeit products are able to reach the distribution chain.
 

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Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

If corruption could be a reason, then Government should take the officials of the area where such incidents happened.

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

The root cause of the problem apart from ignorance of the farmers is indeed the corruption. There is a vicious circle involving the manufacturers, dealers and regulators. The Insecticide Act is not getting implemented properly in letter and spirit. The pesticide industry has found out ways to escape from whatever minimal punishment is prescribed in the law. We need an honest approach involving all the stakeholders and a more stricter law which is implemented properly seeing that the guilty does not escape unpunished.

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

I understand spurious pesticides is not being sold much in state like Bihar and Jharkhad but more in Uttar Pradesh.

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

Spurious pesticides will end when cheaters face death penalty

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

This is true that spurious pesticides are sold with the involvement of Agri dept officials especially in the state of UP and Bihar. This is crime against not only farmers but Indian community as a whole especially in this kind of situation when we are feeling heat of rising food prices due to shortage

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

The insecticide act is out dated, it does not have any relavence in the present situation. A person not getting proper sleep needs a prescription to buy a sleeping pils but unfortunately to buy a pesticide which can kill a person no prescription required in our country.It is currept,greedy unethical persons responsible for such spurious chemicals, who are protected/supported by mighty in the society.Untill and unless the act is written a fresh with stringent laws making govt. officials accountable this minace will continue.

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

this issue of counterfeit pesticides will continue in the long term until and unless the government does not decentrelise the registration process and make it user/business friendly. for a country as large as ours out of which 70% people engaged in farming, it is surprising that we have only one authority The Central Insecticides Board to cater to the thousands of manufacturers in India. Moreover the CIB has at the most 500 persons working full time in various departments. How are they supposed to carry out the gargauntan task of issuing registration to so many companies? Also the archaic approach and limited knolodge combined with greed of these handful persons has time and again deterred genuine manufacturers from obtaining the proper licenses. Also India is the land of Ayurveda and Traditional medicines which do not find favour with the CIB. Also the location of the Central Insecticides Board at Faridabad is at fault. How is it possible for a manufacturer from Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Kerela, or for that matter the northeast states supposed to reach the CIB? We have been working as liaison officers for these registration of pesticides but due to travel and other exhorbitant expenses( read corruption) find it detrimental to ask manufacturers to get registrations for their products. in a land where even the haloed ISI and AGMARK are duplicated where is the question of these counterfeit products? The government ideall should set up branches of the CIB in all state capitals or atleast have regional offices in the North, South, East and West with good quality personell for this menance to be controlled. This is true even for a progressive state like Maharashtra. We have a single Commisonerate in Pune where all licenses regarding to manufacture of pesticides, seeds, fertilizers and micronutrients are issued, by again a handful of greedy babus. In this scenerio pray how a manufacturer from Gondia , Nagpur , etc supposed to get his manufacturing license? so untill and unless a sincere effort is made for the de centralisation of these authorities this menance is bound to continue for a very long time.

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

If corruption could be a reason, then Government should take the officials of the area where such incidents happened.

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

The root cause of the problem apart from ignorance of the farmers is indeed the corruption. There is a vicious circle involving the manufacturers, dealers and regulators. The Insecticide Act is not getting implemented properly in letter and spirit. The pesticide industry has found out ways to escape from whatever minimal punishment is prescribed in the law. We need an honest approach involving all the stakeholders and a more stricter law which is implemented properly seeing that the guilty does not escape unpunished.

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

I understand spurious pesticides is not being sold much in state like Bihar and Jharkhad but more in Uttar Pradesh.

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

Spurious pesticides will end when cheaters face death penalty

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

This is true that spurious pesticides are sold with the involvement of Agri dept officials especially in the state of UP and Bihar. This is crime against not only farmers but Indian community as a whole especially in this kind of situation when we are feeling heat of rising food prices due to shortage

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

The insecticide act is out dated, it does not have any relavence in the present situation. A person not getting proper sleep needs a prescription to buy a sleeping pils but unfortunately to buy a pesticide which can kill a person no prescription required in our country.It is currept,greedy unethical persons responsible for such spurious chemicals, who are protected/supported by mighty in the society.Untill and unless the act is written a fresh with stringent laws making govt. officials accountable this minace will continue.

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

this issue of counterfeit pesticides will continue in the long term until and unless the government does not decentrelise the registration process and make it user/business friendly. for a country as large as ours out of which 70% people engaged in farming, it is surprising that we have only one authority The Central Insecticides Board to cater to the thousands of manufacturers in India. Moreover the CIB has at the most 500 persons working full time in various departments. How are they supposed to carry out the gargauntan task of issuing registration to so many companies? Also the archaic approach and limited knolodge combined with greed of these handful persons has time and again deterred genuine manufacturers from obtaining the proper licenses. Also India is the land of Ayurveda and Traditional medicines which do not find favour with the CIB. Also the location of the Central Insecticides Board at Faridabad is at fault. How is it possible for a manufacturer from Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Kerela, or for that matter the northeast states supposed to reach the CIB? We have been working as liaison officers for these registration of pesticides but due to travel and other exhorbitant expenses( read corruption) find it detrimental to ask manufacturers to get registrations for their products. in a land where even the haloed ISI and AGMARK are duplicated where is the question of these counterfeit products? The government ideall should set up branches of the CIB in all state capitals or atleast have regional offices in the North, South, East and West with good quality personell for this menance to be controlled. This is true even for a progressive state like Maharashtra. We have a single Commisonerate in Pune where all licenses regarding to manufacture of pesticides, seeds, fertilizers and micronutrients are issued, by again a handful of greedy babus. In this scenerio pray how a manufacturer from Gondia , Nagpur , etc supposed to get his manufacturing license? so untill and unless a sincere effort is made for the de centralisation of these authorities this menance is bound to continue for a very long time.

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