Farmer groups flag crop loss risk if 27 popular pesticides banned

The panel was initially given a time of three months for submission of the findings which was later extended due to the pandemic

The T P Rajendran committee, constituted by the Centre to study the vexed issue of banning 27 popular pesticides, has said of the 1,135 responses it received from various stakeholders, around 55 per cent were from the farming community and they expressed concern over 

the possible loss to their crops if the pesticides are withdrawn from the market.

The panel, on whose recommendation the government is believed to have “watered” down its May 2020 draft gazette notification banning popular pesticides, reducing the number of proscribed ones from 27 to three, said farmer groups with which the panel and its members interacted emphasised the cost-effective protection these 27 pesticide-based formulations gave over several decades.

The panel was constituted in January 2021 to study all the aspects related to the safety, toxicity, efficacy, the updated status of data, etc of the 27 pesticides.

The panel was initially given three months to submit its findings but it got more time due to the pandemic.

The pesticides were recommended to be banned because they were perceived to be hazardous to human health.

Meanwhile, the farmers, according to the panel, were apprehensive of the availability of alternative pesticides, which were found to be costlier than the banned ones.

Some farmers were of the view that the pesticides caused no adverse health problems, said the panel’s report, which was recently submitted to the Supreme Court as part of an affidavit by the Centre.

Also, in the affidavit the Centre told the Supreme Court the proposal to lift the ban on 24 of the 27 pesticides “has not attained finality”.

The panel in its findings said the quantity of crops saved from pest damage because of the use of the pesticides was “overwhelming” as against the adversities to crop pollination apprehended.

The 693 farmer groups and individuals who made representation to the panel included representatives from the All India Farmers Association, Young Farmers Association of Punjab, and Pineapple Farmers’ Association.

The panel said from the government side, the Ministry of Chemicals favoured lifting the ban on the grounds that the pesticides industry had made substantive investments in plants and machinery to manufacture these pesticides and many of these were micro, small, and medium enterprises.

“The closure of these units due to the ban will put the agro-chemical industry in jeopardy,” the panel said, quoting the responses from the Ministry of Chemicals.

The food ministry, according to the panel’s report, said banning pesticides such as Malathion and Deltamethrin could make foodgrain storage in the country vulnerable to pests and losses.

The Department of Commerce, quoting industry players, highlighted the adverse impact of banning the pesticides on exports. Of the annual pesticide export worth around Rs 27,000 crore, the share of the 27 pesticides was Rs 8,000-10,000 crore.

The Rajendran panel said several trade bodies like the Coffee Board, Tea Board, and United Planters Association and even some state governments did not favour continuing with the blanket ban.