Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) organized the 61st AGM on 27th September 2024 in the presence of not only their members but with a galaxy of government officials from the Ministry of Agriculture. Nirmala Parhrawal, Executive Director welcomed the guests and explained the pivotal role played by CCFI in minimising crop losses in field and storage.

Addressing the gathering, Deepak Shah, Chairman, was of the firm view that nodal ministries had taken several steps towards ease of doing business for agrochemicals and assured of the commitment to enhance productivity with a focus on indigenous innovation & research. “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. Shah wanted the registration process to be expedited for the benefit of the farming community.”

Taking a lead in this issue Rajesh Aggarwal, Vice Chairman took pride in the fact that India has not only met the growing demand for food, it has 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.

Rajesh Aggarwal reinforced the stand “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”

RD Shroff Chairman Emeritus, CCFI during his virtual address from Mumbai sought govt 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 the 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. A white paper was circulated for the gathering added value to the proceedings.

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.

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 the 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.

A new video film “GUARDIANS OF AGRICULTURE: Story of 60 years of CCFI” was screened much to the appreciation of the august gathering highlighting the growth of the Indian members, the record exports by us, the innovation to introduce new molecules indigenously and strength in Research & Development. The film attributed the role of farmers, the Indian govt not falling prey to organic farming and on safety of Indian food. It also figures reports on substandard pesticides based on RTIs from all states which is contrary to and significantly lower than the false perception created by vested parties and importers.

Faiz Ahmed Kidwai IAS, Addl Secy, complimented CCFI for extensive field work, emphasised the need for joint working with the agrochemical fraternity which has grown over the years. 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 a positive perception among the scientific fraternity, bureaucrats, distributors and housewives. Dr Archana Sinha, Secy 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 about undertaking more samples for testing on residues in food grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, spices etc so as to build confidence with the consumers as they were well equipped for such studies. Dr Krishan Bir Chaudhary, Kisan leader sought policies favouring the industry and the farmers.