11th Agrochemicals Conference 2022: Private Sector & Government Should Work Together to Reduce Use of Fertilizers & Pesticides, Says Tomar

The Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), organized the 11^th Agrochemicals conference on 23 June 2022 at Taj Palace, Sardar Patel Marg, New Delhi. The theme of the conference was “Policy Landscape for a Flourishing Agrochemicals Industry.”

Various eminent personalities graced the event with their presence and contributed to making the event a success.  Ministers, government officials, scientists, farmers along with other dignitaries participated in the event with great enthusiasm.

RG Agarwal, Chairman of FICCI Crop Protection Committee, inaugurated the programme with a lamp lighting ceremony along with the other dignitaries. After the ceremonial lamp lighting, he welcomed all the attendees and gave an opening presentation on the topic “Policy Landscape for a Flourishing Agrochemicals Industry.”

In his session, RG Agarwal urged the government to decrease GST rates on pesticides to 5%, as it is for fertilizers, in order to aid small and marginal farmers." In order to grow the home sector as an international manufacturing base, the government should also offer PLI to the pesticides business."

He further added that the agrochemicals sector has the ability to play a significant role in increasing productivity through greater and scientific agrochemical use while satisfying global residue levels necessary for agricultural exports. It may also directly contribute to the country's economic prosperity by becoming a worldwide manufacturing and export center.

However, the legal and legislative structure controlling the Indian agrochemicals business, as well as fundamental difficulties associated with extension services, represent significant barriers to unlocking potential development in the sector.

He also discussed the various challenges faced by the farmers in India. He emphasized that farmers need to be educated about using agrochemicals properly to reduce crop losses. 

Rafael Del Rio, Chairman, Syngenta India Private Limited, Shubra Jyoti Roy, Senior Vice President, Jubilant Ingrevia Limited, Puneet Singh Thind, Director, Northern Farmers Mega FPO, Angelo De Queiroz Mauricio, Agriculture Attache, Embassy of Brazil, were among the panelists who attended the conference.

FICCI, in association with PwC, successfully released the knowledge report on the “Policy Landscape for a Flourishing Agrochemicals Industry, “at the event.

The next presentation was delivered by Dr. Sowmya Mitra, APAC Regional Marketing Director, Corteva, Agrisciences, on the topic, “Agrochemicals- A Global Perspective. In his session, he addressed the following issues faced by the agriculture industry:

• Increasing pressure on farmers

• Growing Population

• Food Security

• Impacts of Climate change

FICCI, in association with PwC, successfully released the knowledge report on the “Policy Landscape for a Flourishing Agrochemicals Industry, “at the event.

The guest of honor, Vijay Sampla, Chairman, National Commission for scheduled castes, Government of India, addressed the gathering and gave his valuable insights about the agrochemical scenario in India. He remarked that research and development should be raising awareness about the usage of pesticides to help agriculture.

Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers and New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, indicated that the government intends to go forward while keeping farmers in mind. "With a growing population, it is critical to prioritize food security while also ensuring farmers produce at a reduced cost and protecting the environment."

He went on to say that the government is pro-farmer and pro-business and that it tries to eliminate barriers by changing policies and instituting reforms as needed. "It is not just the government's commitment, but also its conviction, to work toward double farmers' income." It is our job to use low-cost agrochemicals and innovate in order to strengthen the agricultural industry. "We also need to focus on organic fertilizers," he said.

In the technical session, the Chief Guest, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, virtually attended and addressed the gathering. He stated that India is an Agriculture prominent country and agriculture contributes greatly to the economy of the country.

During his speech, he emphasized the need of making farming profitable for the Indian farmer. To make the agriculture sector more profitable, there is a need to increase agriculture output and production, and decrease the agriculture inputs and crop losses.

He further stated that the government of India, in association with other state governments has worked on various agricultural schemes to help farmers adopt agriculture technologies and plant more profitable crops. The Minister also underlined that horticulture should be encouraged now so that India may become self-sufficient in all aspects.

"In terms of food grains, our country is in a really favorable situation." To compete on a global scale, we must look to wealthy nations and get ahead of them," he added.