R. G. Agarwal, Chairman Dhanuka Agritech

CROP PROTECTION&

FOOD SECURITY

SOME CATASTROPHES CAUSED BY PESTS

•Irish Potato Famine in 1845-47 caused by a plant disease- late blight, caused by a fungus. Between 1846 and 1850, the population of Ireland dropped by 25% .

In 1995, in the Columbia Basin of USA, a late blight epidemic caused by new aggressive strains affected 65,000ha of potato crop.

The Bengal famine of 1943. an estimated 1.5 to  4  million  people  died  of  starvation, malnutrition and disease.A fungus weakened the rice crop and this was reported  to  have  had  an  even  greater  effect on  yield  (destroyed  50  to  90%  of  some  rice varieties).

Both Pesticides & Pharma are highly regulated industry.

  Developing  a  new  pesticide  molecule requires  intensive  research,  costing  ~  Rs  1000 crore and a time period of a decade.

PESTICIDE USE-HIGHLY REGULATED

Pesticides are specialty chemicals used to control pests (Household & in Crops), just like Pharma products used for human beings.

Source: Industry Reports, Tata Strategic Analysis

USA China INDIA World0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

7

13

0.600000000000001

3

65

23

Pesticides Use (kg/ha)Crop Productivity (Tonnes/ha)

Average Pesticide Use & Crop Productivity

PEST SCENARIO OF SOME CROPS IN INDIA

Crop 1940 At presentTotal insect pests

Serious pests

Total insect pests

Serious pests

Rice 35 10 240 17Wheat 20 2 100 19Sugarcane 28 2 240 43Groundnut 10 4 100 12Mustard 10 4 38 12Pulses 35 6 250 34Cotton 34 9 162 15

CROP PROTECTION

Miticides

Seed Treatment

Herbicides

FungicidesInsecticides

Adjuvants

Rodenticides

Virucides

Nematicides

0500

10001500200025003000

668 663 547 441 48188

2240

29382507

6891159

510

Impact of Improved Agriculture Tech-nology Packages 1950-51

2010-11

Kg/ha

Source: Agricultural Statistics at a Glance-2011, Min. of Agr.

By  adopting  GAP (including  judicious pesticide  use,  the  ‘yield gaps’  can  be  narrowed, and additional production   around  Rs  2  lakh  crore per annum can be added. 

PunjabHaryana

West BengalTamil Nadu

Andhra PradeshUttar Pradesh

All IndiaUttarakhand

AssamGujarat

BiharOrissa

KarnatakaJharkhand

MPMaharashtra

Rajasthan

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 45004144

338325222497

22942236

17981780

166215601530

13971377

13301285

1039931

Productivity of Foodgrains (Kg/ha) during 2009-10 in different States

Challenges & Drivers for Agricultural Growth

CHALLENGES• One of the lowest agricultural productivity in the world.• Decreasing arable land.• Degradation of natural resources.• Technology fatigue.• Wide Yield-gaps between & within States.• Fragmented holdings.• Increase in pests due to intensive agriculture.• Very little area under assured crop protection coverage. • Global warming.• More frequent vagaries of nature (droughts, floods,

etc.) • Low awareness of Agriculture Technology

ROLE OF CHEMICALS Imagine a life without pesticides/chemicals!We  enter  the  bathroom,  sanitized  with chemicals,  kitchen/living  rooms/store  free  of   household insects killed with pesticides. 

The Industry is working to introduce newer and safer

molecules and promote their judicious use

through multi-facet extension programmes

NEWER PESTICIDES REQUIRE LOW DOSESSegment Conventional Molecules New Molecules

Insecticide Dose/acre Insecticide Dose/acre

Weedicides Isoproturon 500 g Sulfosulfuron 13 g

WHEAT 2,4 D 500 g Clodinofop 160 g

Metsulfuron Methyl 8 g

PADDY Butachlor 1000 ml Metsulfuron Methyl + Chlorimuron ethyl

8 g

Pretilachlor 500 ml

Pyrazusulfuron 80 g

SOYBEAN Pendimethlin 1000 ml Imazethapur 300 ml

Trifluralin 1000 ml Quizalofop ethyl 300-400 ml

Fluchloralin 800 ml Fenaxoprop-p-ethyl 400 ml

Chlorimuron ethyl 15 g

01020304050607080

2.3

44.7

75.472.13

56.1147.02

39.7741.51

43.6343.86

41.82

55.54

50.58

Pesticides Consumption (TG) over the Years

000, tonnes

The decrease in consumption is primarily due to introduction of new molecules with required dose of a few gram instead of a kilo /ha.

OUR RECENT INITIATIVE

OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH OF AGROCHEMICALS INDUSTRY

•Present pesticides use  is very  little and  limited  to a  few states & crops-More scope for expansion.•Farmer’s affordability for crop protection due to lucrative farm prices.•Farmers  willingness  to  protect  their    crops  from  pests, due to increasing loss and favourable cost: benefit ratio of pesticides use.•Higher scope for herbicides usage due to non availability of  farm  labour  when  required,  and  likely  saving  in expenditure.•Higher  the  production  cost–Higher  the  inclination  to spend on inputs (pesticides) for minimizing crop losses. 

Pesticides have had a key role  in improving crop productivity to such an extent  that India has quadrupled  foodgrain production since 1951. At  present  MSP,  foodgrains 

worth Rs. 3 lakh crore are lost every  year  due  to  insect pests,  diseases  and  weeds. Can we afford such a colossal loss year after year? 

Protect Crop to Enhance GDP