Volume I | Issue 8 | August-2015 | `70
AGRICULTURE
W RLD CROP CARE VETERANS ON AGROCHEMICALS
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AGRICULTURE
W RLD Volume 1 Issue 8 August 2015
contents GRANITE - A NEW OPTION FOR RICE
CROP PROTECTION
Weeding is an important chore that entails huge eort by the farmer to keep his farming in good health. ‘Granite’ oers may oer the much-needed relief to farmers
Crop Life India is committed to safe and sustainable development of Indian agriculture
06 FOOD SECURITY THROUGH GREEN CHEMISTRY
GST REGEME Good and Simple Tax policies is the need of the hour. An ecient and streamlined tax collection can go a long way in helping the agriculture sector and farmers hampered by a tyranny of taxes. Piyush Jain looks at the prospects
With over 9 billion hungry people to feed by 2050, food security has assumed monumental proportion. Breakthrough in green chemistry technology may help bring relief to the world food security
CROP PROTECTION CHEMICAL INDUSTRY IMPERATIVES OF GROWTH
ABETTING AGRICULTURE’S GROWTH STORY With a range of over 70 products under 1000 brands in 30 countries, HPM is leading the way contributing to India’s growth story
More and more pests mean more chemicals and more challenges. Crop Protection Chemical Industry braces for more chemicals and more challenges
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RULES AND REGULATION FOR AGRO-CHEMICALS INDUSTRY Stringent rules govern the agro-chemicals industry from being exploited by unscrupulous elements. Agriculture World takes a look at the rules and regulations in force
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BROAD SPECTRUM TOTAL HERBICIDE
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Agriculture World is printed and published by: M. C. Dominic 60/9, 3rd Floor, Yusuf Sarai Market, Near Green Park Metro Station, New Delhi 110016. Tel: 011-26511845, 26517923, Mobiles: +91-9313301029 - +91-9654193353. Email: info@krishijagran.com, editor@krishijagran.com • Web: www.krishijagran.com, www.kjcommoditynews.com Printed at: HT Media Press, B-2,Sector 63, Noida - 201301, Dist. Gautam Budh Nagar (U.P.)
CROP CARE FOR GROWTH AND FOOD SECURITY
Editor-in-Chief MC Dominic Directors
Shiny Emanuel MG Vasan
Sr. Executive Editor Dr. KT Chandy RK Teotia Chander Mohan
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rop pests are a perennial source of nightmare to farmers causing sometimes hundred percent damage to the crops and their control in the agricultural systems has been on discussion since time immemorial, with farmers trying all means that are economically viable with regard to their crop in question. Recent concerns also has been on the human health and the environment, bringing the farmers to a dilemma when it comes to creating an equilibrium with regard to high yields versus human health and the environment. e focus of this issue, rightly so, is on this universal issue.
Editorial Head Sanjay Kumar Associate Editor S. Devdas Senior Correspondent Ruby Jain Correspondent Aniket Sinha Kanika Chauhan Imran Khan Admin Head Chetram Marketing Head PS Saini DGM - Marketing Farha Khan
Pests control as most people seem to think is not a simple issue which an illiterate farm worker can handle. Management of crop diseases and pests whether we admit or not is as complicated as the management of human and animal diseases. As a solution to this problem Dr. K. T. Chandy in his article A Policy Change in Pest Control advocates a national level policy xing responsibility of containing the pests and diseases of crops on the agriculture department which is sta ed with experts in pests and diseases control.
Sr. Manager Marketing KJ Saranya Hrituparna Banerjee Marketing Manager Sara Khan Asst. Mktg. Manager Jyoti Sharma Megha Sharma Sr. Executive Marketing Afsana Malik Sujata Gautam Chunki Bhutia Poonam Bishwakarma Geeta Rawat Aruna Jana Rinki Pundir Anku Yadav Circulation Head Nishant K Taak Sr. Executive Circulation Chander Dev Bhatt Rahul Singh Abdus Samad Sukumar Dalai Pappu Ray Head Pre-Press Dharmendra Kumar Designer Yogesh Kumar Accounts Preetha M Nair KB Indira Office Assistant Prem Kumar Ranjan DD Nair VP International Business (Russia & CIS Countries) 6 Mikluho-Maklaya STR, Moscow, Russia 117198 Mob: +7903729 98 30, Tel: +7499501 99 10 Email: ddnair@krishijagran.com M Mezhukanal E-16F - 33, Hamriya Free Zone, Sharjah, UAE Mob: +971 50 2870465 Email: mezhukanal@krishijagran.com All rights reserved. Copyright @ Krishi Jagran Media Group. Agriculture World is published by Krishi Jagran Media Group. Editor: MC Dominic Disclaimer: While every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of the information contained in this publications, the publishers are not responsible for any errors or omissions that might have crept into this publications. No part of this publication may be reproduced or kept in a retrieval system, without the express permission of the publishers.
Management of crop diseases and pests is as complicated as the management of human and animal diseases
Chemical pesticides are equally poisonous to human beings also and hence R.K. Mudholkar, in his article on Food Security rough Green Chemistry rightly advocates the green chemistry approach in the research and development of chemical pesticides. For those who wish to enter agrochemical industry should necessarily know the registration process for agro-chemicals. is aspect of the pesticide industry is creditably covered by Dr. S.N. Sushil in his article on Regulation and Registration process for Agro-Chemicals . Tax on goods and services (GST) is a necessary evil to everyone's favour is not a fact that people take it into their heart and much less the land owners and farmers. To them article by Piush Jain merging with the ideas of Vijay Kelkar explains the bene cial impact of GST on agriculture. e report on a new weed management option using a newly developed weedicide GraniteTM for rice crop by Dr. Basweshwar Ghodki is a welcome innovation though nothing is mentioned about its safety to humans. Use of pesticide may be inevitable but why the dosage higher than the necessary is the question raised by Gantakolla Srivastava in his short article on Crop Protection . Under an oxymoron type of title Abetting India's agricultural growth story Nikhil Agarwal presents the strengths and achievements of his company HPM, while P.S. Singh, Head, chemicals and petrochemicals of FICCI in his short article Crop Protection Chemical Industry Imperatives of Growth a rms the inevitable role of chemical industry in the growth of the nation. e controversy on the use of chemical pesticides shall be a never-dying re in human history. M C Dominic Editor�in�Chief editor@krishijagran.com
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A Policy Change in Pest Control
A Policy Change in Pest Control
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Pest control equipments www.krishijagran.com
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A Policy Change in Pest Control
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Nematodes are invisibles to naked eyes.
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A Policy Change in Pest Control
Nematode Diversity
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Insect pest in rice
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A Policy Change in Pest Control
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Hymalayan fungus in wheat
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A Policy Change in Pest Control
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Dr. K. T. Chandy He has authored 676 booklets on various topics coming under environment management and agri�related subjects. He is on the Editorial Board of Krishi Jagran Media Group. www.krishijagran.com
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Food Security through Green Chemistry
food security through Green Chemistry Food Security India and the rest of the world is staring at some serious challenges. We are poised to grow to a world with over 9 billion people by 2050. Of this number, the UN estimates that almost 8 billion will come from the less developed areas of the world. This will necessitate us to commit to solving some of the world's greatest challenges like increasing food production, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, protecting lives and the environment, and providing science- based solutions to developing markets across the globe. This sets a robust framework for safe and judicious use of crop protection tools for the country's millions of farmers.
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With the Indian Crop Protection industry maturing, corporates are seriously looking at ways in which the industry can realize more sustainability and responsibility. As India is making progress with tackling food security, one of the important issues, also recognized by the National Institution for Transforming India, is to ensure a good agriculture mix while safeguarding the environment. Hence, in the context of Crop Protection industry, the adoption of green chemistry becomes important. The need for Green Chemistry Green chemistry is deďŹ ned as the philosophy of chemical research and engineering that encourages the design of products and processes
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that minimizes the use and generation of hazardous substances. The American Chemical Society identiďŹ es 12 principles of green chemistry, which include designing of safer chemicals that minimizes their toxicity, the prevention of waste rather than its treatment once it is created, and chemicals designed for degradation. The focus on green chemistry is necessitated from our acknowledgement of the global trends for growing need for food security. Crop protection chemicals are recognized as an essential input for increasing agricultural output and for prevention of crop loss before and after harvesting. In India, as per an ASSOCHAM estimate, we www.krishijagran.com
Food Security through Green Chemistry
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lose about INR 50,000 crores worth of farm produce because of pests and diseases. This severely affects both the farmer incomes and the food prices for end consumers. Average rice productivity in India stands at 2 metric tones per hectare (MT/ha) compared with 6.5 MT/ha in China. At the same time, India's pesticide consumption is also low at 0.60 kg/ha as compared to Japan at 10.80 kg/ha. The task at hand is to enable farmers to use crop protection solutions to safeguard against these losses, and developing the tools and technologies that will allow them to do so in a safe, ecologically sound manner. Taking benefits of Green Chemistry to farmers The benefits of green chemistry can be realized throughout the food value chain. It helps maximize crop production while minimizing environmental load in soil, water and air, thus helping maintain ecological equilibrium. Judicious use of farm chemicals also helps to reduce occupational health risks,and to keep residues within standard limits. Indian farmers, like their counterparts in the rest of the world, deserve the best. There is a need for industry stakeholders to provide them with innovative solutions to protect crops, improve plant health, and increase yield and quality. All
KRISHI JAGRAN Krishi Jagran Media Group, one of the fastestgrowing media companies in the country, is a leader in agriculture and rural media marketing. We publish Krish Jagran, its agship title published in as many as 5 regional languages, and its English language publication, Agriculture World. To expand our operation, we are looking for talented editorial and design sta for our Delhi o ce. 60/9, Yousuf Sarai Market, Near Green Park Metro Station, New Delhi - 10016 Tel: 011-26511845 / 26517923 / 45503170 Email: info@krishijagran.com
these are critical to food security. Currently farmers, especially the small and medium farmers, have limited awareness of the concept and its benefits. It is then valuable for the Crop Protection industry and community partners to create higher levels of awareness at the ground level and with all the stakeholders. Innovation in agricultural research should be encouraged and legislation enacted for increased adoption of sustainable farming methods. Increasing sustainable agricultural production enables farmers to grow more food on existing land with minimal impact on the environment and their health. Adoption of Green Chemistry will also enable farmers to realize a better
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agricultural mix, invest in high quality inputs and produce high quality crops. India has a huge untapped potential to increase its agricultural output even with the same area under cultivation. It requires organized efforts similar to the ones IT and services industries have made in India to become globally competitive in a matter of few years. Use of green chemistry, technologies and processes is one significant step in that direction.
Ram K. Mudholkar Business Director, South Asia – DuPont Crop Protec on
or experienced graduates/post graduates in Agriculture or NT Fresh A related domains may be desired. Experience in translation from W English to regional languages such as Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Editorial Staff
Marathi, Bengali, Telugu and Kannada is preferred. Candidates with experience in internet and social media will be given preference. Graphic Designer Fresh or experienced candidates having knowledge of InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and CorelDraw with exposure to web design may be given preference. Please send in your resume to: editor@krishijagran.com.
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INTERVIEW
Coromandel is committed to Grow More with GROMOR million by the year 2020. Increasing crop productivity is the only solution to address the ever increasing demand. The need to provide crop specific, location specific and site specific grades of fertilizer is of paramount importance. In an interview to Krishijagran, Coromonadel International Limited, Executive Vice President talks about the expansion of the Company's businesses and outlook for agriculture growth.
“We are always on the lookout for the opportunities to grow our portfolio of products to help Farmers improve agricultural productivity in India and to enhance their economic status” - Arun Leslie George
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oromandel International Limited which is India`s second largest Phosphatic Fertilizer manufacturing company is in the business segment of Fertilizers, Specialty Nutrients, Crop Protection and Retail having headquarters in Andhra Pradesh. Coromandel is part of the INR 269 Billion Murugappa Group. The Company manufactures a wide range of fertilizers and markets around 3.2 million tons making it a leader in its addressable markets. In the year 2014-15, the Company`s turnover was Rs.11,285 Crore. On the occasion of opening a new office in NOIDA, the Krishijagran Team interacted with Shri Arun Leslie George, Executive Vice President & Head of SSP Business at Coromandel International Limited. Shri George, who is working with the Murugappa Group for more than 25 years highlighted the growth of the Company with confidence & commitment. The role of Coromandel Fertilizers is to Grow More to meet the food requirements of India`s growing population in view of the limited arable land. According to an estimate India`s grain output needs to cross 280
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Emerging of Coromandel and some information about their products? Coromandel is an Indian corporation founded in the early 1960s by IMC, Chevron from USA and EID Parry. The company is in the business of Fertilizers, Crop Protection, Specialty Nutrients, Organic Fertilizers and Rural Retail. Coromandel International is the agship company of the Murugappa Group and has 16 manufacturing units located in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir and its brand portfolio includes Gromor, Godavari, Paramfos, Parry Gold, Gromor Suraksha, Double Horse, Parry Super, among others. It is ranked among the Top 20 Best Companies to work for in India as per the survey conducted by Business Today 2009. It is rated as one of the top ten greenest companies in India by TERI, reecting its commitment to the environment and society. Its mission is to enhance the prosperity of farmers and to that end has been focusing on improving farm productivity and farm economics. As you are a company of Phosphatic fertilizers manufacturers, how about SSP? India is a young country with 1.2 billion people that is rapidly urbanizing resulting in the shrinkage of agriculture land. The growing population and changing dietary consumption patterns afforded by growing income levels will mean that Indian agricultural practices will need to change and adopt higher and different types of agri-inputs to keep pace with the demand. With the acquisition of Liberty group of companies, the Company has accelerated its planned expansion of Single Super Phosphate (SSP) business. This acquisition has enhanced Coromandel's capacity to manufacture over ten lakh tons of SSP that allows Coromandel to reach the farming community in various parts of the country.
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One of the key issues faced by the SSP industry is www.krishijagran.com
INTERVIEW with respect to quality of products being sold in the market. It is said that in the SSP industry we get SSP from 0% to the requisite 16%. Substandard SSP being sold by many players adversely affect the image of the SSP industry. The Central and State governments have taken many steps to improve quality in the SSP industry yet there are very large gaps. This systemic helplessness in doing anything about quality is pushing farmers to go for more expensive DAP which is mostly imported thus pushing up the cost in the food chain. There is a need to increase awareness about quality of SSP as an issue amongst farmers who may not be aware the impact in yields and quality of output when they use a substandard fertilizer. We at Coromandel have initiated a series of steps to ensure that we make absolutely the best SSP in terms of it being (1) free owing, (2) non caking, (3) correct nutrient content, (4) correct weight and (5) good packaging with a unique tamper proof sealing. Our granules are uniform and the quality is much higher than the required specifications. To ensure our quality is consistent we have introduced random external checks at all our 8 plants manufacturing SSP each month. The product samples are tested at an external laboratory and the report is sent to Marketing. Each day I review the Quality Report of all 8 plants to ensure that only the very best SSP goes to the farming community. Double Horse is the Rolls Royce of SSP and the farmer can buy SSP with full confidence and trust from a reputed group which made the first fertilizer in India over a hundred years ago! Our belief is that such a distinctive and superior product will get farmers to replace the more expensive and less effective DAP with Double Horse SSP. Instead of using one bag of DAP, it is better to use a combination of Urea (half bag) and Double Horse SSP (3 bags) www.krishijagran.com
which will be cheaper for the farmer apart from getting 16.5kg of Sulphur and 28.5kg of Calcium free. Our field trials have shown that this combination results in better yields and better quality of output than DAP in many crops. Being a south based company, any plan to come to North? We are a pan India Company having our plants in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu also. Our strategy is to sharpen focus on the growing SSP segment in the wake of it being a very affordable and effective fertilizer and being superior to DAP. What are the plans for expansion of fertilizer capacity? Keeping in the view of the greater demand for fertilizers, we have expanded our Kakinada Plant (C-Train) in Andhra Pradesh. The Liberty acquisition has seen a significant expansion in our SSP capacity. Do you anticipate revenue and growth targets? As a policy, we don't give any guidance on our revenue growth targets. However, we are constantly on the lookout for opportunities to grow our portfolio of products to help farmers improve agricultural productivity, thus enhance their economic status.
Our rural retail journey started during 2007-08 with establishment of Mana Gromor Retail Centers. Considering the customers' response and strategic fit, we have expanded this network to over 750 outlets. Today, a farmer has access to complete farming solutions in these centers. One stop solution is our motto to help farmers to get the solutions to their farming problems at our retail stores. Apart from expansion of our retail network we have also introduced farm mechanization solutions. Which we see as a big opportunity as the farming community continues to face labour shortage. CSR Activities? We have a range of CSR activities across Coromandel and the Murugappa Group in healthcare, education, community infrastructure, etc. At Coromandel we have focused on the girl child. We are providing scholarships to girl students to become literate and contribute to the society. Many girls drop out of schools because there are no proper toilets. To this end we are building toilets for girls in schools so that they get back to school.
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Chander Mohan Sr. Execu ve Editor Krishi Jagran, New Delhi
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Regulation and Registration Process for Agro-chemicals
Regulation and Registration Process for Agro-chemicals
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esticides are one of the most important inputs for sustaining agricultural production to feed the growing population of the country. Since pesticides are meant to kill insects, they are poisonous by nature. Several incidents of inadvertent mixing of pesticides with food material in late '50's and late '60s in various parts of the country led to setting up of an Enquiry Commission, which recommended short-term and long-term measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents. Long-term measures included enactment of a legislation to regulate the import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution and use of insecticides with a view to preventing risk to human beings or animals, etc. Consequently, the Government enacted a comprehensive legislation, called the Insecticides Act, 1968. In order to give effect to the provisions of the Act, The Insecticides Rules, 1971 were also framed. The Union Ministry of Agriculture has been entrusted with the task of administering the Act. The term “insecticide” is so defined
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under the Act to cover all kinds of pesticides. The Government constituted a Board called the Central Insecticides Board (CIB) to advise the Central and State Governments on technical matters related to this Act and to carry out the other functions assigned to the Board under the Act. The matters on which the Board may advise include matter relating to the risk to human beings or animals involved in the use of insecticides and the safety measures necessary to prevent such risk; and the manufacture, sale, storage, transport and distribution of insecticides with a view to ensuring safety to human beings or animals. The Central Government has constituted a Registration Committee (RC) consisting of a Chairman, and not more than five persons as members of the Board (including the Drugs Controller General of India and the Plant Protection Adviser to the Government of India) to register insecticides after scrutinizing their formula and verifying claims made by the importer or the manufacturer
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regarding their efficacy and safety to human beings and animals and to perform such other functions as are assigned to it under this Act. The states were simultaneously advised to appoint all functionaries mentioned in the Act. After the stage was fully set, all the provisions of the Insecticides Act were brought into effect from 1st August, 1971. In the Act and the Rules framed there under, there is compulsory registration of the pesticides at the Central level and license for their manufacture; formulation and sale are dealt with at the State level. All insecticides (pesticides) have to necessarily register themselves with the Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee (CIB & RC) before they can be sold. According to Section 3 (e) of Insecticides Act, 1968, the word “insecticides” means (i) any substance specified in the Schedule; or (ii) such other substances (including fungicides and weedicides) as the Central Government may, after consultation with the Board, by notification in the Official Gazette, include in the www.krishijagran.com
Regulation and Registration Process for Agro-chemicals schedule from time to time; or (iii) any preparation containing any one or more of such substances. Thus, technically all insecticides (pesticides) in India are those substances that are listed on the "Schedule" of the Insecticides Act, 1968. The Schedule to the Act enumerates an exhaustive list of Insecticides which are legally covered under the Act.1. The Registration Certificate mandates that a label be put on the packaging, which clearly indicates the nature of the insecticide (Agricultural or Household use), composition, active ingredient, target pest(s), recommended dosage, caution sign and safety precautions. Registration of Insecticides under Insecticides Act, 1968 Any person planning to import or manufacture any insecticide may apply to the Registration Committee for the registration of such insecticide On receipt of such application, the Committee will make an inquiry and will conform to the claims made by the importer and after payment of a fee may prescribe the insecticide, allot a registration number and issue a certificate of registration in token thereof within a period of twelve months. The application shall be refused if the precaution claimed by the application involves serious risk to human beings or animals
An appeal against any decision of the Registration Committee shall be preferred in writing in duplicate to the Central Government in the Department of Agriculture Every appeal shall be accompanied by a treasury challan evidencing the payment of relevant fee and a copy of the decision appealed against. Online registration facility is also available to aid the applicant wherein the applicant needs to put in his PAN number to prove his credibility. The steps in product registration in India are as follows: The technical grade products registration can be obtained in three ways: Provisional Registration u/s 9(3b) – For the bio-pesticides and new molecule introduced first time in India. Usually granted for a period of 2 years Regular Registration u/s 9(3) – Subject to the submission of complete data Registration u/s 9(4) – After 9 (3) registration of a molecule, any other person can apply for registration Registration of agrochemicals is handled at central Government level whereas issues regarding
Submits application along with data
1. Applicant
Deficiency report
2. CIB & RC, Ministry of Agriculture (Registration & Scrutiny)
Admn office
Legal
Chemistry
Bioefficacy
Registration Committee
Packaging
Toxicology
4. Ministry of Health (MRL Fixation)
5. Central Insecticides Laboratory (Testing) For Products Manufactured in India
Secretariat scrutinizes residue pro forma
SCPR studies data and recommends the MRL
CCFS studies SCPR recommendati on and approves MRL
Inspector visits site and collects the sample
For Imported Technicals Submit samples
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Sample analysis
Sample analysis
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implementation of the Act including manufacturing license is done at the state level. Around 250 technical grade and 565 formulated pesticides have been registered for use in agriculture in India, against various pests. These pesticides can be broadly classified into Insecticides (used against insect pests), Herbicides (for killing & controlling weeds), Fungicides (against diseases) and others. Another classification is based on the chemical composition – organophosphate compounds, organo-chlorines, synthetic pyrethroids, carbamates, biopesticides etc. It is noteworthy that due to increasing awareness towards hazards of pesticides and promotion of IPM and good agricultural practices, the production of biopesticides has gone up steeply from 123 MT in 1991-92 to around 6,000 MT in 2014-15. The Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee promote registration of effective and safe bio-pesticides and botanicals by giving provisional registration under section 9(3b), which allows commercialization of the product as well. There is a need to give utmost emphasis on establishing the virulence of strains of different microbial bio-agents at regional level, which would restrict the use of biopesticides region-wise for better result. There should be dynamic and frequent review of the registered pesticides for banning/ restricting them for use, based on the present knowledge base. New improved and strict legislation would be introduced for replacing existing Insecticides Act to have effective provision for safe disposal of used containers, safety issues for the operators, qualification for pesticides dealers, and heavy penalty for the rule violators. Dr. S.N. Sushil Plant Protec on Adviser, Govt. of India Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department of Agriculture and Coopera on Directorate of Plant Protec on, Quaran ne and Storage, NH IV, Faridabad – 121 001
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INTERVIEW
Syngenta I-CLEAN initiative for Rural Upliftment
Bipin Solanki, Managing Director of Syngenta India Limited spoke to the villagers gathered at the inauguration ceremony of the project
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Upgraded sheds of the vegetable mandi at the Mangrahi village
Union Agriculture Minister Shri. Radha Mohan Singh visited Syngenta’s I-CLEAN project and appreciated our efforts.
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INTERVIEW
GROW MORE IN SAFE HAND OF PROTECTION Sir, please accept our heartiest greetings, and also we would like to congratulate you on becoming company dealing into more than 150 products from the one product kitty-zinc competencies in agro-chemicals, micro nutrients and bio product. SANJAY AGARWAL, MD, INDO GULF Would you like to share your Business mantra of success in two decades? Our business mantra is strong emphasis on quality at reasonable price to the farmer and our strong endeavor to provide complete range of the latest products for crop protection as well as crop production. We employ the best plant and machinery, have all quality systems in place and have a capable product development and registration team for bringing out new products Your Punch line "Grow more in safe hand of protection" deals with pesticides and fertilizer. Would you like to elaborate on the key focus area of your company? The two key words are Growth and Protection – Protection of crops through our products and Growth in their standard of living. Agriculture even today is depended on the vagaries of nature. Further, Insect pests, Diseases and Weeds are a big factor affecting crop productivity. With top quality crop protection and productivity enhancing products, we bring to the farmers the protection to their crop for ensuring his maximum productivity and prosperity. Our key focus area is providing the full range of protection and productivity solutions that is best in quality and at a reasonable price. Hence we contribute significantly to nation building by insuring the prosperity of the people. I Would like to add that this punch line is for
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everyone who is associated with us – consumers, channel partners, vendors, associates, consultants and our teams and their families. Will it be possible to share your methodologies to reach to the people in the farming sector? We employ all kinds of interactions with our farmers, through farmer meetings and seminars. One to one visit to the Avant Garde and opinion leaders, Media advertisement and outdoor advertising and now we use the technologies such as telecom and internet. We have recently joined hands with Agri-clinic and Agribusiness Centre Moradabad to run the Farmer School on wheels – a unique way of reaching out to the farmers through a well-equippedbus for training the farmers. We also provide soil sample testing facility to the farmers with instant recommendation according to the crop. How you identify the target audience? They are all around us, aren't they? Every farmer is our target audience. But yes today it is important to stay focused … and that is what is achieved through our focus on crop pattern in various states….We segment the audience according to the crops they grow and the level of inputs they use. Then we target our specific products as per recommendation. While interacting with the farmers, for new technology products, we target the opinion leaders and early adopters who are more likely to use our products.
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INTERVIEW Whether your products are region & season specific or for all types of crops the sane product and brand name do the needful? Yes our products are region specific according to the crop and the climatic conditions. There are brands of national Importance such as Ankur Gold and Root-O-Max Gold, and then there are region specific brands such as Indoshaktiban for Soybean crop, Sandesh for Rice belts and so on. Which are the product are near to your heart? We have introduced a Gold Series of products, a range of Plant Productivity and speciality products for the farmers. We think these technologies will go a long way in ensuring balanced plant nutrition, Soil Health and Effective use of Agrochemicals through improvement in plant absorption of these products, thus reducing the
wastage and the environmental impact. We are really passionate about such products How you are reaching to the Farmers community? Already answered this in an earlier question How will you differentiate your product for other companies? Any uniqueness? We have a complete basket of products for crop protection and productivity. How you rank yourself among your competition? We are creating our own space without worrying too much about the competition.
works Your future plans? We are in the midst of a transformation, from Jaishree Rasayan to Indogulf crop sciences Limited, it envisages a whole set of activities and sweeping changes in our management systems. Hence we will be visible to all of you in a new avatar in very near future. We are sure that this change will create a lot of excitement both internally and to our customers and we are sure to come out in a more effective manner for serving the farmers.
Any plans of joint ventures with India or collaborative with foreign companies for news products? We are working on a few prepositions, but it's still in the
Interviewed by
–Ruby Jain¹ and Imran Khan² ¹Sr. Correspondent ²Correspondent Krishi Jagran, New Delhi
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GST: A Simple and Good Tax in India to Boost up Agriculture?
GST: A Simple AND Good Tax in India to Boost up Agriculture? Introduction GST is a tax (Goods & Service Tax) on goods and services with comprehensive and continuous chain of set off benefits from the Producer's point and Service provider's point up to the retailer level. GST is expected be levied only at the destination point, and not at various points (from manufacturing to retail outlets). It is essentially a tax only on value addition at each stage and a supplier at each stage is permitted to set off through a tax credit mechanism which would eliminate the burden of all cascading effects, including the burden of CENVAT and Service Tax. Under GST structure, all
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different stages of production and distribution can be interpreted as a mere tax pass through and the tax essentially sticks on final consumption within the taxing jurisdiction.
Under GST, the tax burden will be divided equitably between manufacturing and services, through a lower tax rate by increasing the tax base and minimizing exemptions.
Currently, a manufacturer needs to pay tax when a finished product moves out from the factory, and it is again taxed at the retail outlet when sold. The taxes are levied at the multiple stages such as CENVAT, Central sales tax, State Sales Tax, Octroi, etc. will be replaced by GST to be introduced at Central and State level.
However, the basic features of law such as chargeability, definition of taxable event and taxable person, measure of levy including valuation provisions, basis of classification etc. would be uniform across these states as far as practicable.
All goods and services, barring a few exceptions, are being brought into the GST base. No distinction between goods and services.
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The existing CST will be discontinued. Instead, IGST will come into place on the inter-state transfer of the Goods and Services. By removing the cascading effect of taxes (CST, additional customs duty, surcharges, luxury www.krishijagran.com
GST: A Simple and Good Tax in India to Boost up Agriculture? Tax, Entertainment Tax, etc.),CGST & SGST will be charged on same price . SGST and CGST for intrastate transaction: In the GST system, both Central and State taxes will be collected at the point of sale. Both components (the Central and State GST) will be charged on the manufacturing cost/assessable value. IGST for Interstate transaction: 'IGST Model' will be in place for taxation of inter State transaction of Goods and Services. The scope of IGST Model is that center would levy IGST which would be CGST plus SGST on all inter State transactions of taxable goods and services with appropriate provision for consignment or stock transfer of goods and services. The GST paid on the purchase of goods and services, to be paid on the supply of goods and services. There should be no distinction between raw materials and capital goods in allowing input tax credit. The tax base should comprehensively extend over all goods and services up to final consumption point on value addition. Assessable value for all the taxes will be same. The Central government has entrusted Dr. Vijay Kelkar, Chairman of 13th Finance Commission to suggest a rational, scientific, simplified and modern but unified system of taxation in tune with developed nations form the base behind the introduction of Goods and Service Tax (here after referred to as 'GST') in India.
the GST charged by the last dealer in the supply chain. With the introduction of GST at the State level, the additional burden of CENVAT and services tax would be comprehensively removed and major Central and State taxes will get subsumed into GST which will reduce the multiplicity of taxes. Thus it marks a major improvement over the previous system of VAT. Again, the transparent and complete chain of set-offs, GST will helpwidening the coverage of tax base and improve tax compliance. This may lead to higher revenue which further results in lowering of tax burden. Although there are many hurdles to be crossed before the implementation of GST like consensus over rates, constitutional amendment, compensation mechanism for States losing out on revenue, varying models, dispute resolution etc. the Central government has reiterated its commitment towards the adoption of a 'awless' GST for the survival of the India's economy in the face of increasing International competition consequent to globalization and liberalization. Despite the various impediments to the proposed transition, until the time GST is implemented, it would be worthwhile to assess its positive impacts on the various development areas in India. Agricultural Prices to Rise Post GST: Vijay Kelkar "Food is a large portion of spending of lower income households and any tax on food and
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farm produce would be regressive since production and distribution of food as well as agricultural produce is largely unorganised in India." “Prices of agricultural items and services are expected to rise after implementation of the GST, although the overall inationary impact of the proposed indirect tax regime will be negative”, former Finance Commission Chairman Vijay Kelkar said. Kelkar told the Parliamentary Standing Committee scrutinizing the GST Bill that while prices of agricultural commodities and services are expected to rise, most of the manufactured goods would be available at relatively low prices, especially textiles and readymade garments "The prices of agricultural goods would increase between 0.61% and 1.18% whereas the overall prices of all manufacturing sector goods would decline between 1.22% and 2.53%," Kelkar said in a reply to the committee headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha. Our farm sector has been failing to compete because its production costs are higher than that of our competitors in the global market. Costly produce has ravaged the rural economy. While agricultural inputs are subsidized/exempted by few states only, on the other hand, the cost of seed, fertilizers, pesticides and diesel has increased sharply in the past few years in India. The glut of costly produce and low commodity prices have ravaged
GST is a broad based, single, comprehensive tax levied on goods and services at each point of sale of goods or provision of service, in which, the seller or service provider may claim the input credit of tax which he has paid while purchasing the goods or availing the service; the final consumer will thus bear only www.krishijagran.com
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GST: A Simple and Good Tax in India to Boost up Agriculture? during 1970 to 1990. During the same period, the population of India increased by 60%. Consequently, the per capita availability of cereals has increased by 30%. Such an impressive growth in the production of cereals made India self-sufficient in food grains.
the rural economy, forcing farmers to agitate. The government can revive the rural economy and its export competitiveness by revisiting the cost structure of agricultural inputs. The most effective policy intervention seems to be the exempting (or zero rating) of GST, which adds 18pc to input costs as of now. (Present Excise Duty 12.50% plus VAT 5%). A corresponding reduction in commodity prices will benefit stakeholders. The government will be able to fix lower procurement prices for wheat, sugarcane and other crops. Food ination will take a downward plunge, directly benefiting urban consumers. Industry, particularly textiles, will gain from lower raw material prices, restoring its competitive edge. Farmers will be happy to see the government act in their interest, and benefit from higher yields due to improved use of cheaper inputs. The national economy will reap productivity gains and will not be hemorrhaged by persistent demands for crop subsidies and export rebates. It will break free from the vicious structural trap of high input costs, high commodity prices, high ination and low competitiveness.
increases because they aren't able to pass on their costs. It also urged the government to unveil draft rules and regulations relating to Goods and Services Tax (GST) on public domain to enable industry to share its comments on the legislation related to the proposed indirect tax regime. Green Revolution to Troubled Farmers The urge for food sufficiency let to the birth of Green Revolution in India under the guidance of Dr. Norman Borlaug of Mexico and Dr. M. S. Swaminathan of India. The Green Revolution introduced high yielding variety seed in the irrigated lands of Punjab, Haryana, and West Bengal. The high yielding variety of seed requires fertilizers and pesticides so were supplemented with the same. The agriculture practices adopted as a result of Green Revolution resulted in 100% increase in the production of cereals
However, the Green Revolution's main focus was on the production of only two cereals wheat and rice, other food crops like millets, oil seeds, vegetables, etc. were neglected at the first place. Also, the green revolution was limited to the irrigated parts of India, despite the fact that about 50% of the land in India is rain fed. All the more, the green revolution was beneficial for the large and medium farmers who can afford the increased cost of inputs and mechanization. The High Yielding Varieties has increased the input cost of agriculture, due to extra cost of fertilizers, pesticides and mechanization in one hand and has deprived farmers of fodder for their cattle. So, if we just look at the overall effect on the life of a small farmer, whose life depends only on his small piece of land and the cattle, the picture is not very clear for him. The small and marginal farmers are still skeptical about the overall benefits of the HYV of crops. The economic condition of small and marginal farmers is very bad. The rising cost of inputs to agriculture coupled with soil
If GST is imposed on agricultural inputs, manufacturers/ dealers/ retailers aren't going to forego any profit - farmers are likely to be forced to absorb the cost
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GST: A Simple and Good Tax in India to Boost up Agriculture?
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degradation and destruction of village ecosystem has led farmers into the debt trap of moneylenders. The farmers are even prone to commit suicides. The NCRB data shows that on an average about 17,000 farmers committed suicide in India during 1997-2006. Over seventy per cent of India's population still lives in rural areas. There are substantial differences between the states in the proportion of rural and urban population (varying from almost 90 per cent in Assam and Bihar to 61 per cent in Maharashtra). Agriculture is the largest and one of the most important sector of the rural economy and contributes both to economic growth and employment. Its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product has declined over the last five decades but agriculture still remains the source of livelihood for over 70 per cent of the country's population. A large proportion of the rural work force is small and consists of marginal farmers and landless agricultural laborers. There is substantial under employment among these people; both wages and productivity are low. These in turn result in poverty; it is estimated that 320 million people are still living below the poverty line in rural India. Food Security According to one United Nations Report (2011) India will have a total population of 1.42 billion people in 2026.One of the major issues is that India needs to address the sustainable supply of agricultural produce. More population, less production is going to create less supply and more demand for food. Lesser agricultural growth going to increase demand for food production which is a major reason for India not achieving selfsufficiency in food production Technological innovations in agriculture and increase in area www.krishijagran.com
under cultivation have ensured that so far, food production has kept pace with the population growth. Evolution of global and national food security systems has improved access to food. It is estimated that the global population will grow to 9 billion by 2050 and the food production will double; improvement in purchasing power and changing dietary habits (shift to animal products) may further add to the requirement of food grains. Thus, in the next five decades, the food and nutrition security could become critical in many parts of the world especially in the developing countries and pockets of poverty in the developed countries In a developing country like India, food security means making available minimum quality of food grains to the entire population. Despite the fact that India has made a satisfactory achievement in food grains production, its population growth has nullified the benefits of production. Thus, examination of food population relationship is important. The agriculture and private public partnership, economic approach, food justice and sovereignty, encouragement for genetically modified crops, greater investment in irrigation, better economics in farming and greater government attention to agriculture – all offer short term relief, but, unless more sustainable food systems are introduced, none will succeed in the long term. There's no 2015 AUGUST
doubt that something like a second Green Revolution has great potential to transform India's food production capacity and bring it up to levels that will sustain the population as it continues to grow. Conclusion To conclude, though the positive impacts referred above are dependent on a neutral and rational design of the GST, balancing the conicting interests of various stakeholders, full political commitment for a fundamental tax reform with a constitutional amendment, the switchover to a 'awless' GST would be a big leap in the indirect taxation system and also give a new impetus to India's economic change. It is also noted that, buoyed by the success of GST, more than 140 countries have introduced GST in some form to other and is fast becoming the preferred form of indirect tax in the Asia Pacific region. It is submitted that keeping in view the food security and the rising population and agriculture growth, the agricultural inputs should be exempted or taxed at merit/special rates so that it can continue to contribute to the growth of nation and citizens thereof.
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Piyush Jain Vice President Crystal Crop Protec on Pvt. Ltd.
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INTERVIEW
Sudarshan Smiles to Millions of Farmers satisfactory track record in the field of custom manufacturing, is helping us to move towards our goal says Shri Vinod Jalali, General Manager (Marketing) in interaction with the Agriculture World Editorial Team emphasized, “Today Sudarshan is one of the leading companies for its technical pesticides in India and abroad. We are known as the largest manufacturers of pigment and Agrochemicals in India.”
SHRI VINOD JALALI General Manager (Marketing)
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udarshan one of the leading agrochemical companies in India through its innovative and quality products ranks among the major technical grade manufacturers in India. The Agrochemical division, started in 1982, has made rapid strides in R&D team has kept pace with the latest technology and has consistently introduced newer molecules with a more favorable environmental profile. Sudarshan focus is on quality, customer satisfaction and is responsive to change. At present they are offering a range of agrochemicals and formulations which are manufactured at their plant in Roha, located near Mumbai. Beside they also offer customized service related to research, development and manufacturing of agrochemicals, intermediates and specialty chemicals from pilot plant to commercial quantities.
He continued, “We manufacture insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and plant growth regulators. We can also provide various formulations based on these A.I's. Sudarshan enjoys leadership position in Agrochemicals, especially for Triazophos Tecnical in India and abroad. It is ranked among few companies in the world to make highest quality of triazophos. That`s why our important insecticides are Triazophos technical and formulations Chlorpyrifos technical and formulations; Phosphamidon technical and formulations; Imidacloprid technical and formulations; Acetamiprid technical and formulations; Towards the Fungicides the technicals are Hexaconazole, and Tricyclazole Regarding the Herbicides we are having Pretilachlor technical and formulations.”
Sudarshan is focused on establishing itself as a leading custom manufacturing company with a broad tool box of capabilities and technologies.
Shri Jalali further added that there is problem of irrigation in India. There are 5,70,000 thousand villages in India and there are 20 crores farmers are facing the problems of crop protection. We create awareness among the farmers and also manufacture the product which can be sprinkled on the crops to save them from insecticides.”
Over the 33 years of experience and
Sighting an example of the disease in the
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INTERVIEW paddy he continued that Sudarshan is manufacturing many agrochemicals to give relief to the paddy growers especially in the southern India because the south India is having two paddy crops where as in Northern part the paddy crop is only one time. The sprinklers are different for these. The company is manufacturing specialized chemicals as Cartap and Fipronil for the remedy of the Borer. We had done extensive R&D on the Cartap resulted the market size is 90-99 thousand metric ton. With this chemical we had achieved our position in the market.” He further said, “The second big problem after the stem borer the farmers are facing is the crop leaves get yellow as well as started turning. Though the said disease is for the short time but damage the crop in a huge manner. To overcome this problem, the company has come out with the Triazophos and Phosphamidon formulations. Regarding the Blast problem, Sudarshan is having the Tricyclazole TC. If the timely sprinkling on the crop is there then the fungus disease on the crop can be eradicated. For the Sheathblight problem many types of sprinklers are also devised as Hexaconzole with Tricyclazole, Carbendazim with Mancyclazole and with the Cartap Triclorozole. He also further added that the False Smut is the disease often www.krishijagran.com
visible in the paddy crop.” Shri Jalali further added that India share in the paddy crop has increased significantly and our company is specially working for the paddy crop. Presently there are sprinklers for the paddy crop, where as in comparison to other crops. Though the use of sprinklers are now in a very low stream due to the Bt Cotton crop yet the use of sprinkler on the paddy crop in the traditional manner are in practice. Recently, the Hoppers were seen on the paddy crop. In addition to all this, Shri Jalali added that in the districts of Haryana, the paddy crop is affected with the new problem, but the reasons are still unknown. Around seven percent crop is affected with this new problem. The paddy crop becomes yellow, which effects the whole crop growing circle. Speaking towards the turnover of the company and the market share, Shri Jalali replied with confidence that 2015 AUGUST
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the Agro Division turnover is 150 Crores. Sudarshan success is based on the strong foundations and ethics, quality, care for our customers and a deep concern for our environment. At present the Agrochemical market is of 20 thousand crores and in 201920, the market shall be 32 thousand crores. The annual increase is of 12 percent per year. The company is working for the Paddy, Sugarcane, All Vegetables, Mustered, Wheat, Aloevera, Soyabean and every type of the commercial crops. If we talk about the use of agrochemicals in India the 500 grams per hectare is the consumption whereas in the world China, Brazil, America, Taiwan, the consumption is 10-11 kilogram per hectare.
Interviewed by
Ruby Jain Sr. Correspondent , Krishi Jagran, New Delhi
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GraniteTM : A New Weed Management Option for Rice
TM
Granite : A New Weed Management Option for Rice
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GraniteTM : A New Weed Management Option for Rice
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Dr. Basweshwar Ghodki Technology Transfer Manager Dow AgroSciences India Pvt. Ltd. 1st floor, Block‐ B02, Godrej Business District, B.S. Marg, Vikhroli‐ West, Mumbai ‐ 400079 Email‐ bsghodki@dow.com
Krishi Jagran Krish Jagran Media Group is a fast-growing rural media marekting company based in Delhi. It publishes Krishi Jagran in 5 languages and distributed across 13 states with a readership of 60 lakhs. We also publish an English language magazine, Agriculture World. MARKETING MANAGERS
MARKETING EXECUTIVES
Now that we are embarking on an agressive marketing strategy to reach our clients all over India, we are looking for dynamic, agressive and result-oriented persons to join us at our Delhi o ce. Male or female candidates with proven track record in space selling from reputed organisations may be preferred. The person should be graduate, smart, plesant and well-mannered with excellent communication skills and uent in English and Hindi. Feshesrs can also apply. Send your resume to: editor@krishijagran.com. editor@krishjagran.com www.krishijagran.com
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Glyphosate A broad spectrum total herbicide
Glyphosate A broad spectrum total herbicide M
anual and mechanical methods of weed control are less effective, costly, time consuming and to be repeated at frequent intervals. Pre-emergence herbicides presently used for weed control take care of weeds only for a limited period and hence late emerging weeds escaped from killing. The available postemergence herbicides are mostly non-selective and even directed spray of some herbicides cause considerable crop damage. So, there is an ample scope for controlling weeds by the application of early post-emergence herbicide. This necessitates the development and testing of selective early post emergence herbicides for weed control. Glyphosate is a highly effective and environmentally benign herbicide that controls a broad spectrum of annual and perennial
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grass and broadleaf weeds and translocated foliar herbicide. It kill the plants by means of inhibits 5enolpyruvylshikimate-3phosphatesynthase (EPSPS) the sixth enzyme in the shikimate biosynthetic pathway that produces the essential aromatic amino acids. Their effect on soil, air and water contamination were relatively small. In soil, rapid degradation of glyphosate was noted and the derived glyphosate half-lives (Thalf) varied from 5 to 23 day. Glyphosate completely disappeared from soil after about 5 months following application.
In general, glyphosate is moderately persistent in soil. The primary reason is that crops can be planted or seeded directly into treated areas following application and that glyphosate exhibits essentially no pre-emergent activity even when applied at high rates. It is
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relatively immobile in most soil environments as a result of its strong adsorption to soil particles.
A study on the effects of glyphosate on microbial biomass found glyphosate generally had no signiďŹ cant effect on the numbers of bacteria, fungi or actinomycetes in forest soil and overlying forest litter. There was no effect of glyphosate on in situ respiration in most of the treated soil eco-systems while the remainder showed an increase in respiration. In contrast to generalizations that glyphosate is tightly bound and inactivated in soil, numerous studies show that glyphosate is available to soil and rhizosphere microbial communities as a substrate for direct metabolism leading to increased microbial biomass and activity. C. Chinnusamy, C. Nithya and D. Ravisankar DWSRC, Department of Agronomy, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore – 641 003 Eâ€?mail: chinnusamyc@gmail.com www.krishijagran.com
Crop Protection Contribution to Indian Agriculture
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CROP PROTECTION
Contribution to Indian Agriculture Gantakolla Srivastava is the CEO of CropLife India, an association of the plant science industry in India. Mr Srivastava is a seasoned professional having a work exposure of more than 20 years, in Policy Advocacy, especially in the area of agriculture. Mr Srivastava has been instrumental in leading key initiatives on Responsible Use of Crop Protection Products, AntiCounterfeiting, Progressive Regulation through farmer engagement, thought leadership and policy advocacy.
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rop protection products, commonly referred to as pesticides or agrochemical products, play a vital role in controlling the pests and diseases that infect, consume or damage crops thereby significantly reducing the quantity and quality of food production, while the benefits of agricultural innovation goes to farmers and consumers. According to Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals in its written reply to Parliamentary Standing Committee, 2012-13 it has been stated that, “Every year in India, pests and diseases eat away, on an average, 2030% of food, worth about Rs. 45000 crore, produced by the farmers.” Food crops have to compete with 30,000 species of weeds, 3,000 species of nematodes and 10,000 species of planteating insects. Crop protection products or "pesticides" help control these harmful insects, diseases, weeds, fungi and other undesirable pests or diseases. Crop protection technologies have developed over the years with the www.krishijagran.com
advancements in R & D on chemistries that are being introduced today, which are far less toxic and the dosages have also come down dramatically over the decades. This has been possible due to Government's facilitation and industry efforts to bring in better crop protection solutions to Indian Farmers. For instance during the 1980s, 1000-3000, grams of active ingredients like carbomates and organophosphates of very high toxicity were used in an hectare of land. In the early 1990s, the dosage levels came down to 100 - 750 grams per hectare of high toxic chemicals like synthetic pyrethroids and cartaps. By the late 1900s to early 2000, the dosages had further come down to 100 – 500 grams of moderate toxic chemicals like Neonicotonoids and Triazoles. From mid 2000 to the present, the dosages have come down to less than 100 grams per hectare of low toxicity chemicals like strobilurins, diamides, sulfonyls and urea. Today the crop protection industry has been successful in introducing chemistries that have 2015 AUGUST
lowest dose to the extent of less than 10 grams of active ingredients per hectare. Crop life India the industry association of technology driven crop s c i e n c e i n d u s t r y, c o m m i t t e d t o responsible crop care and crop production for the safe and sustainable development of Indian agriculture has been instrumental in making the above epochal change in the way crop protection solutions are provided to the Indian farmers. CropLife India member companies have also come to the rescue of Indian Agriculture during national crop emergencies due to infestation of p e s t s s u c h a s P h a l a r i s m i n o r, Heliothisarmigera, Rice BPH, Cotton White fly & CLCV by introducing innovative crop protection solutions. As on date, CropLife India members have introduced 243 molecules out of the 260 registered in India. Further, it has also enabled farmers to adopt these new crop protection technologies while improving the productivity and contributing to India's Food Security.
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Abetting India's agricultural growth story
Abetting India's agricultural growth story
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ndia ranks second in the world in farm output and first in selected agri- commodities. Thanks to quality and affordable agriculture inputs made available to 90% of Indian farmers by HPM Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. With its strong presence in agri-input business, HPM is a four decade old corporate entity having more than 70 products in more than 1000 different packaging. “We have a global branding in 30 countries. In terms of ranking we are counted amongst the top ten players in India. Quality is the cornerstone of all our activities at HPM. "Recently launched Export initiative is visualized to reach `1000 million in revenue in a very short span of time", says Nikhil Aggarwal
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(B.Sc-Chemistry Hons and MBA from USA), Managing Director.
HPM is a household name in rural India.
The history of the ISO 9001:2008 certified company goes back to the year 1974 during when a Pulverizer was established to manufacture insecticidal dusts like BHC, DDT and Malathion; that's how company's name 'HPM' (Hindustan Pulverising Mills) originated and recently it is known as HPM Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd after the company entered the business of fertilizers.
“Our best period started from the year 1996 when we established a new plant in Rajasthan. We are growing 15% year on year” says Mr. Ashok Aggarwal, Chairman. A second generation steerer of the family business, starting his stint in 1974 as Managing Director and later as Chairman from 2011, he has been instrumental in planting the HPM growth story. A 'Bharatiya Udyog Ratna' awardee, the Samba and Khuskhera units were set up under his aegis.
Now HPM group is one of the leading agri-input providers in India. With multi-location manufacturing facilities; vast presence through its offices/ warehouses/distribution chains; and ever-growing product ranges,
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USPs · 40 plus year old company · Oldest company in India in agro chemical segment www.krishijagran.com
Abetting India's agricultural growth story · · · · · · · · · ·
Widest range of products in the industry Leader in its segment in terms of revenue and certifications 5000 distributor channel Distribution via 45,000 retail outlets 20 local warehouses Pan-India presence; branches in 26 locations State-of-the-art robust infrastructure Inuencing 90% of Indian agriculture More than 16 crore units sold every year on an average More than 80% retention of staff.
Dr. Nikhil also reects on how HPM is a technology-driven company, backed by a robust infrastructure, committed to developing innovative products based on research and development. He says exultantly, “We spend around 3 to 4 million Rupees every year on R&D; what you buy from us are all research-oriented innovations. In the financial year 2012-13, we have spent `4 million on molecular development. Our laboratories are fully accoutered with high precision instruments manned by a team of qualified professionals who are backed by years of expertise.” The HPM technical plant has a production capacity of 3000 MTA of active ingredients. The team at HPM works as a family. “We are going robust as a global company. We believe i n the progress of everybody – our employees, partners, stakeholders, distributors, farmers, and all those who are connected to us,” says a suave Mr. Ashok Aggarwal.
a team of 600+ permanent and more than 500 contract labor workforce, who have woven success stories for the company in a c h i e v i n g milestones year after year. E n s u r i n g occupational health and safety, HPM conducts its manufacturing, packing, and dispatch activities as per BS OHSAS 18001:2007 standards. A clean and contamination-free milieu around is warranted by its Environment Management System as per ISO14001:2004 norms. HPM is also geared up to reduce the emission of CO2 into the environment. Awards and Accolades · · · · · · ·
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Udyog Bharti Award, 2004 Udyog Ratna Award, 2005 Bharatiya Udyog Ratna Award, 2005 Quality Excellence Award, 2005 Gold Medal for Excellence, 2005 Rashtriya Ekta Award, 2005 Rashtriya Samman Puraskar & Gold Medal, 2005 · Rajiv Gandhi Shiromoni Award, 2005 · Bharatiya Shiromani Puraskar, 2005 · Rashtriya Udyog Gold Award, 2005 · Bharat Jyoti Award, 2006 · Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award, 2006 Udyog Ratan Award for fastest
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growing company, 2011, and more. A big-wheel in bringing about technological and managerial excellence in HPM's operations, Dr. Nikhil implemented SAP for a transparent effective connectivity of the head office, factories and branch offices, thus facilitating smooth transactions and operations. As part of corporate social responsibility, complying to SA 8000-2003 standards, HPM contributes to the overall growth of the rural people of India in particular. The initiative involves adoption of at least two villages in a single territory (termed Sukhiya Village) every year and providing up liftment support in areas ranging from health, nutrition, education to plantation of trees, and general welfare. Thanks to our excellent distribution network, around 6 lakh villages use our products; on an average 100 units is sold every minute in India, ”We cherish the mission to extend the farmers' base, abet their growth, and promote them in the international market.
HPM has
Nikhil Agarwal Managing Director HPM Chemicals & Fer lizers Ltd. www.krishijagran.com
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Crop Protection Chemical industry Imperatives of growth
Crop Protection Chemical industry Imperatives of growth
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he future of Crop Protection Chemicals industry is bright. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12% between FY 14 and FY 19 to reach USD 7.5 Bn. In the coming years, agrochemical industry should focus on developing new processes and products with sustainability as its core principle. This requires developing a collaborative platform in which the academia, government and regulatory bodies, farmers associations, manufacturers and farmers come together to promote safe and judicious usage of pesticides. Going ahead, opportunities for the Indian crop protection industry will come from exports, higher production of
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generic products, product portfolio expansion, and growth in herbicides and fungicides. In the coming years, the need for safe and effective use of crop protection chemicals will further increase to brace with larger climatic variations and emergence of new invasive insects, weeds and diseases. Hence, it is important for companies to invest today in science and practices which promote safe and judicious use of crop chemicals. Judicious use of pesticides implies using the right product, with correct dosage and with correct application methodology. When used judiciously, the products deliver maximum impact on the target species. Therefore, it is critical for
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both the government and for Crop Protection Chemicals manufacturers to work closely with the farmers and farmers associations to educate them on safe and judicious use of existing pesticides as well as advancements happening in products on a regular basis. Internally, crop protection products manufacturers can also consider performing a process and environmental impact audit of their existing products and adopt green chemistry practices. To move to “green practices�, in the short term, companies can implement zero discharge solutions, adopt COD reduction techniques and develop collaborative platforms. In the medium term, companies can www.krishijagran.com
Crop Protection Chemical industry Imperatives of growth implement solvent recovery practices, explore alternate green solvents, evaluate biocatalysts and microwave chemistry technology. Over the long term, companies may also focus on developing bio pesticides, Implement process innovation to achieve a better material balance and build symbiotic relationships with key stake holders. Embracing farmers to promote judicious usage of crop protection products will be an appropriate way to develop a long term sustainable business model in Crop Protection Chemicals. For a sustainable growth it is imperative for crop protection chemicals manufacturers to adopt green chemistry processes, develop new products which are nearly 100% green and increase their focus on educating and training the farmers for proper usage of Crop Protection Chemicals. Focus on Green Chemistry will help the companies to design new products and processes with sustainability as the core principle. In the long term, this will help the companies to differentiate themselves and build competitive advantage. Government should also look to curb the menace of spurious
pesticides. However, the industry cannot implement the green chemistry practices in isolation. It is imperative to build a collaborative ecosystem in which the academia, industry, government and regulatory bodies come together and create opportunities for the industry, academia and the entrepreneurs to test, scale-up and commercialize their ideas in the domain of green chemistry practices. Ideas or concepts with potential should be nurtured and adequate support should be provided for scale-up and commercialization. This would encourage creation of inventions and innovations. 24 With Government's current campaign on 'Make in India' which has a special focus on the chemical industry and aims to turn the
CPAC
country into a global manufacturing hub, good infrastructure and adoption of cluster approach (in which the like -minded industry shares common infrastructure and thus bringing down the over-all cost. Government could also consider giving same excise treatment to crop protection chemicals, as given to fertilizers and seeds since all of them facilitate the agriculture sector. The future indeed is bright for Indian crop protection chemicals industry, as a facilitator of the Indian agriculture as also of national economy.4
P.S. Singh Head� Chemicals and Petrochemicals FICCI
NEWS
Mitsubishi Corporation IFFCO collaboration
M
itsubishi Corporation (MC) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) based in India to establish a local enterprise for the sale and distribution of agrochemicals in India. The new company, IFFCO-MC Crop Science Private Limited (IFFCO-MC), will see IFFCO holding 51% of shares and MC holding 49%. IFFCO has built up a highly respected national brand as India's largest producer and distributor of fertilizers, delivering high quality fertilizers needed by farmers through their nationwide Cooperative Society network. IFFCO-MC will be seeking to leverage the strength of the IFFCO brand and its extensive sales network to supply a number of www.krishijagran.com
agrochemicals, mainly herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, to the Indian market, starting in October of this year. The establishment of IFFCO-MC as a partnership between IFFCO and MC is the product of years doing business together and developing a positive working relationship. The size of India's agro-chemicals market is valued at some 250 billion yen in 2014 and accounts for about 5% of the global total. As its population increases and as daily food consumption patterns evolve, this volume is expected to continue showing robust growth, and is projected to reach a value of approximately 350 billion yen in ď€ scal year 2017. Through this newly established venture, which will supply high quality agrochemical products needed by farmers, IFFCO and MC will seek to continue contributing to the development of agriculture in India.
2015 AUGUST
AGRICULTURE WORLD
ISSUE-8
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