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Agrochemical industry told to check India’s dependence on imported products
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Friday, 27 March, 2015, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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fiogf49gjkf0d Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh has urged the Indian agrochemical industry to play a larger role in the agriculture sector in order to check India’s dependence on imported products by multinational companies which are then sold to Indian farmers at exorbitant rates. The minister was speaking at an event organised by Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) in the national capital on Wednesday.
The minister emphasised that Indian companies need to increase investments in research and development of new products which should be customised to suit the requirement of the Indian farmer.
“The government firmly supports the growth of the local Indian agrochemical industry. However to be truly competitive at the global level, it is essential that Indian companies start investing more in the R&D of new products. We believe the Indian industry has the potential to provide Indian farmers with world-class products at affordable rates for which they are presently at the mercy of multinational companies,” he said.
The minister assured the gathered leaders of Indian agrochemical industry that their interests would be taken care of while drafting the long-awaited Pesticide Management Bill, 2008, which would be tabled in the second leg of the ongoing Budget session of Parliament.
The minister ended his interaction with the industry by saying that Indian farmer needs to do away with traditional farming techniques and adopt scientific methods of agriculture to raise crop yields and that Indian industry will have to play a big role in helping the farmer adopt newer agricultural technologies.
Echoing the minister’s sentiments, Rajju Shroff, chairman, CCFI, stated, “The Indian industry strongly supports government’s call for Make in India campaign. We believe only Indian companies have the intention and the will to produce and sell world-class products to Indian farmers at the cheapest possible rate. We also feel assured that after a decade of stagnant growth, the Indian industry will benefit from the reforms promised by the current government in the sector.”
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