The Indian council of agricultural research (ICAR), in a study, estimated that the loss in value of India’s agriculture produce due to weeds alone would be to the tune of over INR 80,000 crores, without the use of crop protection products. If India today is progressing towards a record estimated 329 million tonnes of food grain in 2023–24 from a time when it had to import food grains in the 1950s and 1960s, it owes much to the introduction of crop protection products, besides high-quality yielding variety (HYV) seeds and other inputs.
It is incumbent on us to curb the menace of unscrupulous players. India is today the fourth largest producer and second largest exporter of agrochemicals in the world. It is important that India take leadership in the agrochemical sector and help in the march towards Viksit Bharat by 2047. The union budget 2024 is a great opportunity to take the Indian agrochemical industry to the next level. Research and development have to be given a further boost if the domestic industry has to contribute to the cutting edge technological revolution that is taking place in the sector. A compelling fact is that over 95 percent of molecules introduced in the country have been by multinational companies.
A 200 percent weighted income tax deduction should be provided on the investment made by the research-based companies in India in R&D and on the registration of studies, including in-house lab or field studies, as well as sponsored studies at central research organisations or state agriculture universities, etc., pertaining to product, process, or standard development for specialty chemicals, agri-inputs, including new crop protection products and bio-stimulants, besides drone based spray optimisation, validation, and regulatory studies. This would create a robust R&D ecosystem that fosters innovation and propels India’s agrochemicals sector towards a globally competitive future. Prioritizing R&D is also important to move towards sustainable agriculture with the least environmental footprint. The industry has on its own brought down the application rates from 3–4 kg in the 1960s to a few grams now per hectare with the least environmental footprint. This needs further incentivization.
