India Ministry of Agriculture had issued a draft notification on 14 May, intending to ban the chemicals for being harmful to humans and animals, many of them are widely used by Indian farmers. In the notification, the ministry had given all stakeholders time till 27 June to submit their objections and suggestions.

In a digital press conference Tuesday, President of the Pesticides Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India (PMFAI) Pradip Dave declared that the ban will shrink India’s export capability by more than 50 per cent and will also hand over a Rs 12,000 crore(USD16 Billion) market to China.

The pesticide manufacturers also alleged that the ban will not only lead to a dip in export earnings for the Indian industry but will also create a massive setback for Indian farmers amid the Covid-19 crisis and the upcoming kharif crop season.

According to them, banning the pesticide will lead to an additional burden on farmers as the 27 pesticides cost Rs 350-450(USD4.68-6.02) per litre while the alternatives are imported and cost Rs 1,200-2,000(USD16.05-26.75) per litre.

Samir Dave, director of Aimco Pesticides Ltd and President of Agrocare, a Belgium-based global association for the agrochemical industry, said, “The pesticides under the ambit of the proposed ban produce more than 130 formulations used by the farmers for crop protection. This ban will increase farm input cost of farmers who are affected by lockdown to contain the spread of locust, apart from various other threats to their crops.

“These pesticides account for 40 percent of the domestic market and the alternative available to the farmers will be branded, readymade and expensive ones produced by the MNCs,” added Dave.