Latest News | Farmer Body RKPA Expresses Concern over Sale of Spurious Pesticides

New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) Rashtriya Kisan Progressive Association (RKPA) on Friday expressed concern over the supply of sub-standard and spurious pesticides in the market, saying the use of such farm inputs affects farm productivity.

RKPA, a pan-India association that works for the welfare and progress of farmers across the country, also condemned certain industry bodies for presenting "misleading" facts on the usage of spurious pesticides in the country.

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Talking to reporters here, Binod Anand, National President of RKPA, said while India's agricultural productivity has increased by more than 6 times since 1950, the per acre yield is way below in comparison to many developed and developing nations.

One major contributor to lower yields is the widespread use of low-quality inputs, including agrochemicals, he said.

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Anand, who is also a member of a committee constituted by the government on minimum support price (MSP), also criticised some industry bodies which underestimate the problem of supply of sub-standard and spurious pesticides in the Indian market.

"....some vested interest dares to put the level of sub-standard products at 2 per cent of the overall Indian market. This is nothing but misleading and cheating of farmers," Anand said.

He said there was huge damage to 9 lakh acres of chilli crops in a southern state in 2021 mainly due to the usage of sub-standard pesticides in the sub-lethal dose.

"The ultimate sufferers were farmers and consumers. Strict action is a must against such culprits, but unfortunately, vested interests are strengthening such elements by presenting a misleading picture," he said.

Pawan Payal, National General Secretary of RKPA, stressed that discrepancies in sampling from pesticide dealers/retailers are one of the root causes of the flourishing sub-standard pesticide market in the country.

Headquartered in Nawada, Bihar, Rashtriya Kisan Progressive Association is a consortium of national progressive farmers' organizations with a presence in 16 states and 1.37 lakh farmer members.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)