After planning to ban 27 pesticides, the government has now moved to curb the use of glyphosate, a widely-used herbicide in the country.
“No person shall use glyphosate except through Pest Control Operators,” said a draft notification issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, published on July 8. The Ministry has given 30 days time for any person to raise objection or suggestions on the draft order.
The draft order which may be called Restriction on use of Glyphosate Order, 2020, will come into force on the date of its final publication in the Official Gazette, the Ministry said in a notification.
Glyphosate is among the 39 widely-used agrochemicals by the farming community in India to control weeds in tea plantations, non-crop and cropped areas, for about four decades now. The use of herbicides such as glyphosate has been on the rise as farmers have been increasingly relying on chemicals to tackle labour shortage, rising costs and to protect their yields from weeds, which compete with standing crops for nutrients.
Further, the order states that all holders of certificate of registration granted for glyphosate and its derivatives shall return their certificates to the Registration Committee for incorporation of the warning in bold letters ‘The use of glyphosate formulation to be allowed through Pest Control Operators (PCOs)’ on the label and leaflets.
If any person who holds the certificate of registration fails to return the certificate to the Registration Committee, referred to in Clause (3), within a period of three months, action shall be taken under the provisions contained in the Insecticides Act, it said. Every State Government shall take all such steps under the provisions of the said Act and the rules framed thereunder, as it considers necessary for the execution of this Order in the State, the order said.
The pesticide industry said the government’s proposed move is impractical as there are not many PCOs in the farming sector and that it may impact the sales of glyphosate and its product formulations in the country.
Pradeep Dave, President of the Pesticides Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India, said the government wants to see that the application of glyphosate and its products is taken up by qualified people such as PCOs. “However, the only problem is that such operators are not registered with the agriculture department or government,” he said.
Further, Dave said that the resubmission of registration certificate was not necessary as it will add to more procedural works of the manufacturers. “Once it is notified in the Gazette, everyone will follow it,” he said.
Rajesh Agarwal, Managing Director, Insecticides India Ltd, said there are hardly any PCOs in the farming sector, and that the government’s decision could be difficult to implement and may hurt sales. Further, the use of PCOs for spraying would also add to the costs of the farmers.
“This move is against farmers’ interest,” said CD Mayee, President of South Asia Biotech Centre. The government could be thinking of curbing the cultivation of HT cotton by restricting the sales, but now there are other cotton growers who are dependent on these herbicides to control weeds. Moreover, where are the PCOs in rural areas? The concept of PCO may be prevalent in the US but not in rural India. Any move to create PCOs now would result in corruption and licence raj, yet again, Mayee said.
Major producers of glyphosate in India include Bayer, Sumitomo, Adama, Crystal, Rallis and Insecticides India, among others.
Latest figures from the Agriculture Ministry suggest that glyphosate consumption stood at close to 670 tonnes during 2018-19. The government’s move is also aimed at controlling the spread of illegal herbicide tolerant (HT) cotton, which more farmers are seen planting this year.
The timing of the Ministry’s move to restrict use of glyphosate seems interesting. It may be recalled that recently, Bayer reached a $10.9-billion settlement with the Roundup plaintiffs in the US, who had claimed that the use of herbicide had caused them to develop a form of blood cancer. Glyphosate is an active ingredient in the weedicide Roundup.