Need to boost crop productivity, make farming profitable for growth: Tomar

Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar on Thursday stressed on increasing farm productivity and crop production as well as making farming activities profitable for the overall growth of the sector.

He also said there is a need for balanced use of agro-chemicals and fertilisers by creating awareness.

Addressing an event 'India Chem 2022', Tomar said the government has undertaken various reforms in the agro-chemical industry and the process would continue in consultation with the stakeholders, including private manufacturing players.

He assured them that the government will make efforts to address the challenges faced by the industry.

Tomar emphasised on the need for coordinated and comprehensive efforts across various ministries and sectors to realise the true potential of India.

The two-day event was organised by FICCI along with the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

According to a FICCI statement, Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, said Indian agriculture is changing with the times and there is a need to adopt newer technologies and equipment.

"We need to have a balanced approach for 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, said India can become a global player in the agrochemicals sector and there is potential to increase 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," he added.

Ahuja further said there are around 2,000 argi start-ups along with medium-large scale industries. He said there is a need to provide integrated package to farmers to resolve their issues.

"Our long-term vision is to make India a global player in agrochemicals sector along with increasing farmers productivity," he said.

RG Agarwal, chairman of FICCI Crop Protection Committee and Group Chairman, Dhanuka Agritech, said agro-chemicals are one of the most important inputs to agricultural sector for providing food, nutrition, health, wealth, and environmental security to the nation.

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

UPL Director Vikram Shroff said India will see more investments in chemicals and the agro-chemicals sector.

Simon Thorsten Wiebusch, Executive Director, Bayer Cropscience Limited and Country Division Head, Crop Science division of Bayer for India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, said image building for agriculture and the industry both within India and globally is very important.