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The swarms of desert locusts continue to ravage farm fields across the country but the agro-chemical companies are perplexed as at least two major pesticides, which kill the predatory insects with ease, are in the process of being banned by the Centre.
On May 14, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare had issued a draft notification, which said that the use of twenty-seven pesticides is likely to involve risk to human being and animals, therefore, the chemicals would be banned. It has given a 45-day window for raising objections and suggestion. Among the 27 chemicals are Malathion and Chlorpyriphos. Another chemical called DDVP or Dichlorvos would be fully banned after December 31.
On the other hand, several States in the past week have recommended Malathion and Chlorpyriphos for fighting the locusts’ menace. In early February, when the first wave of attacks started in Rajasthan, farmers around Sri Ganganagar district had also used DDVP for locust control.
The Crop Care Federation of India, which is the industry body of major agrochemicals producer in the country, is engaged in a dialogue with the Centre on this issue. Advisor to the body, Harish Mehta, in an email interaction with BusinessLine said the government is recommending only two products — Chlorpyriphos and Malathion — for the locust control. This year, the infestation is five to ten times bigger than the last year and these locust swarms can fly more than 200 km in a day.
The banning of such products will create a long-term handicap for the farmers in controlling the locust infestation, he said.
Mehta said that the proposed banning of the 27 products will make Indian farmers vulnerable not only to locusts but also to several invasive insects species. The policymakers should not ban such products as the industry does not know when the need will arise in future.
Mehta further said that for the May 14 notification, the industry players have already submitted most of the required data and there is no compelling reason to ban them. These products are also used in developed countries such as the US, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and other OECD countries.
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