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Supply of good quality pesticides -- Qualification norms likely for dealers

Our Bureau

MUMBAI, July 10

IN order to ensure supply of good quality pesticides, the Government is thinking of prescribing some qualification for pesticide dealers, similar to that for chemists and druggists, and the industry must select dealers with social-consciousness, Mr B.S. Minhas, Additional Secretary, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, said.

Addressing the members of Pesticides Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India (PMFAI), Mr Minhas urged the industry to ensure that good quality pesticides were supplied to farmers, apart from making reasonable profits. ``The Government's first priority is to protect farmers' interest on a long-term basis and ensure that agriculture is sustained,'' he added.

The problem of obsolete pesticides and their disposal has been a real one facing several countries including those in Europe and China; so, pesticides production in India should largely equal demand and not in excess of demand, the official advised.

Commenting on the opposition of the association to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) because of fear of competition from imports, Mr Minhas asserted that WTO was more of an opportunity rather than a threat. "Pesticide manufacturers must accept WTO as a reality and explore export opportunities", he said.

He asked the industry to keep track of import volumes following the removal of quantitative restrictions and bring all relevant information to the notice of the government for corrective action, if needed. Tractor manufacturers too had represented to the Ministry of Agriculture for stopping new and second-hand tractor import on the ground that large-scale imports were taking place, but the association had no data to back-up its claim, Mr Minhas pointed out.

Earlier, welcoming the delegates, Mr Pradeep Dave, President of PMFAI, said the Indian pesticides industry was passing through tough times because of lower pesticides consumption over the last three years following unsatisfactory monsoon.

Highlighting the threats from multinational companies, the association president cautioned against the WTO provisions which helped developed countries impose non-tariff and technical barriers to trade. He referred to problems associated with registration due to sudden change in policies and guidelines. All over the world, generic pesticides are registered with minimum data if chemical equivalent is similar to first registration, but in India registration procedures are becoming more cumbersome rather th an simplified, he lamented.