Agrochemical industry asked to invest in Research and Development

The Government has called upon the agrochemicals industry to invest in Research and Development and innovations in agro-chemicals sector.

Delivering the inaugural address at a National Conference here today, Indrajit Pal, Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, said that in order to remain globally competitive, the industry needs to innovate in products, for which innovative state-of-the-art R and D laboratories and financial resources would be required.

He pointed out that the Indian chemical sector spends only 1-2% of their total turnover on research and development as compared to around 5-10% by the chemical industry in the developed countries.

He said that one of the emerging areas for R and D is green agrochemicals and the Indian industry should pursue the development of eco-friendly green agrochemicals.

He said that for ensuring quality of agrochemicals, the Government has set up 71 pesticides testing laboratories across the country -- 68 state laboratories, two regional laboratories and one central laboratory.

Manufacturing units should adopt GMP (good manufacturing practices) and take all such measures that are necessary to ensure delivery of quality products to the farmers.

Indrajit Pal also informed that the Institute of Agrochemicals Formulation Technology (IPFT), an autonomous body of the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, has been developing state-of-the-art user and environment friendly formulations for the agrochemicals industry.

During the last 5-6 years, IPFT has developed many formulations and transferred them to the industries.

He also urged the industry to take full advantage of the facilities offered by the institute.

The Conference has been organised jointly by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Departments of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Department of Fertilizers and the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation.

The two-day conference will cover topics of relevance to the sector, new developments, innovations, export potential as also issues such as spurious pesticides and regulatory regime.

With nearly a 1.2 billion population, India requires a robust, modernized agriculture sector to ensure the food security for its population. Scope for further increasing cultivable land is limited.

In order to meet the foodgrain requirements of the country, the agricultural productivity and its growth needs to be sustained and further improved. Pesticides or Agrochemicals are recognized as an essential input for increasing agricultural production and preventing crop loss before and after harvesting. Their judicious usage is very important for the sustained growth of Indian agriculture and economy.

A large number of senior executives from the chemical industry, scholars, policy makers and farmers are participating in the conference.