“Need for a Comprehensive & Coordinated Effort Across Ministries”: Narendra Singh Tomar

Addressing Day 2 of ‘INDIA CHEM 2022’, organized by FICCI, jointly with the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Govt of India, Tomar highlighted that chemicals play a very important role in our lives. In the last 8 years, the government has tried to identify not just the problems but their solutions as well. The government has already abolished over 1400 laws and working to provide ease of doing business for the Indian industry, he added.

Tomar stated that the image of India is changing both domestically and globally and it is imperative that we find ways to grow further. As compared to the rest of the world, post-COVID, the government has taken a series of steps to ensure that we stand strong including manufacturing vaccines, introducing PLI, and providing boosters to the economy. “Agriculture sector is a very diversified sector and is the strength of India. This is our fundamental pillar and for the nation to grow, we need to focus on the fundamental pillar (agriculture),” he added.

Tomar also stressed the need to adopt a consultative approach while drafting any policy benefiting the industry and the economy. We are working to make India a stronger nation. We invite the industry to come forward to share the challenges faced. The government is committed to the development of not just a few but all sectors to ensure India becomes a developed nation by the time India celebrates its 100 years of Independence, he emphasized.

Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers and New & Renewable Energy, Govt of India said that Indian agriculture is changing with time and this there is a need to adopt newer technology and equipment. We need to have a balanced approach to using pesticides. The government is working in collaboration with the industry to solve the bottlenecks faced by the sector, he added.

Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt of India said “India can become a global player in the agrochemicals sector and there is a potential to increase our exports by 10 times. “We have to bring ease of doing business along with regulations and create a right balance which will benefit the industry and the country.”

Ahuja stated that India has around 2,000 agri start-ups along with medium-large scale industries and we need to provide an integrated package to the farmer to resolve their issues. Our long-term vision is to make India a global player in the agrochemicals sector along with increasing farmers' productivity, he highlighted.

Arun Baroka, Secretary (Chemicals and Petrochemicals), Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, GoI said “the Indian chemicals sector is growing around 1.5 percent more than the nation’s GDP. Agrochemicals are very important for the economy, hence there is a need for optimum use of fertilizers for human safety and environment.”

RG Agarwal, Chairman, FICCI Crop Protection Committee & Group Chairman, Dhanuka Agritech said that Agrochemicals are one of the important inputs to the agricultural sector in providing food, nutrition, health, wealth, and environmental security for the nation.

“Agrochemicals play a major role in improving agriculture productivity and the government has identified this sector as one of the 15 Champion industries under manufacturing sectors,” he added.

Vikram Shroff, Director, UPL Ltd said that India has the opportunity to provide food for the world. India is the 2nd largest producer of food in the world, and we have sustainable agriculture. India will see more investments in the chemicals, and agrochemicals sector.

Simon Thorsten Wiebusch, Executive Director, Bayer Cropscience Limited & Country Division Head, Crop Science division of Bayer for India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka said that image building for agriculture and the industry both within India and globally is very important. We must ensure access to newer digital including chemical and trade technologies to Indian farmers to make us globally competitive.