IPM Certified farm produce

 29 January 2025

 

A few days back, I posted a note on linked-in (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/govind-gujar-477861b_this-is-a-season-of-lobbying-for-concessions-activity-7289148251465830401-YPaJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop)

related to the current season of lobbying amongst Indian Industry to seek rebate on taxes as the Government of India will be presenting its annual budget on the 1^st February 2025. Pesticide industry is no exception. It is seeking rebate on custom duty as well as GST amongst others. As reported, the industry too sought the Govt commitment for extension services to be strengthened. Over the years, this industry and other farm institutions have played a major role in bringing knowledge of crop protection to the Indian farmers, educating them on the safe use of pesticides. Unfortunately, lackadaisical attitude amongst farmers towards pesticides has created many problems including endangering of lives of their own and other consumers. While it has become practically impossible to get out of vicious circle of use and misuse of pesticides, natural and organic farming systems as advocated by the Government are yet to find favour with farmers in view of limited market and yield penalty. And hence, the only way forward seems to ensure value addition to the current system by ensuring that produce is pesticide-free or conform to the norms of safety as prescribed by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India under the Food Safety and Standard Act of 2006. Will branding of farm produce in the conventional farming protected with integrated pest management (IPM) help? IPM Certified similar to Organic!

During the course of our visit to a holy town of Trimbakeshwar famous for one of the Jyotirlingas in Maharashtra in January this year, we came across a field of cucumber (Kheera) wherein fruits were being packed. Tempting as they were fresh and shining green, I enquired about the harvest. Unfortunately, fruits smelled foul. Farmer told me that he had sprayed the crop a day before and washed the produce after harvest. Yet, foul smell of pesticide persisted. Normally, farmers spray the crop immediately after every picking and then at 3-4 days interval. The next picking of fruits will be at 10-15 days interval depending upon crop maturity and market demands. One can imagine that within this period, he is spraying at least two to three times.  On examination, his crop was pest-free. “It is impossible to get good yields, if the crop is not sprayed as the crop is damaged by pests”, said the farmer. This is not the only story of cucumber farmer that we came across. Many farmers especially those growing vegetables spray crops at regular interval, be there an incidence of pest or not. A state of Jammu & Kashmir uses maximum quantity of pesticide on the unit area basis [1.3 kg ai/ha] in the country. While writing this note, I chanced to read the news item in the Times of India, Mumbai edition [28^th Jan 2025] that more than a dozen people, many children amongst them, died of mysterious disease in the district of Rajouri in Jammu & Kashmir state. The high levels of carbamates and organophosphates were reportedly found in the samples of deceased. In 2017, more than 22 farm labourers who sprayed cotton crop died of poisoning, and many more hospitalized in the district of Yavatmal in Maharashtra State. The mis-use of pesticides is rampant throughout the country.

India uses about 60,000 tons of pesticides every year. On the unit area basis, we use only about 400-500 gm active ingredient per hectare, as compared to many-fold more use in some developed countries. This is a talking point for the pesticide industry which also boast of its being 4^th largest producer in the world. The All India Network project on monitoring of pesticide residues at the national level, the Governments’ body based in New Delhi with branches spread all over the country, monitors pesticide residues every year in farm gate samples. Their findings tally well with those reported in some developed countries. On an average, not more than 5% of produce is reported to have pesticide residues more than the permissible limit [maximum residue level]. Some contain residues of pesticides which are not approved on the crop as per the Government policy. Despite these Government reports, complaints of contaminated produce and poisoning of humans do appear in the scientific journals and newspapers from time to time, and are to be believed given the fact that the pests are key constraints of crop yields. Most farm holdings are largely small with less than 2 hectare, highly vulnerable to environmental risks and hence, less financially sustainable. The efforts of the Government to provide extension services and monitor pesticide usage fall short of expectations in view of enormity of task.

The Government of India has been increasingly advocating natural and organic farming to reduce use of pesticides and make it more cost effective. The National Centre for organic and natural farming located at Ghaziabad near New Delhi is a nodal organization to promote these farming systems. However, these farming systems also affect yields adversely, as there are limited options for successful pest management. Farmers are therefore unwilling to do natural or organic farming. Only those farmers with assured market do produce organic or natural farm produce, and their number is limited. It is reported that organic and natural farming occupies less than 1% of total cropped area. The market for organic and natural food is growing only in urban and semi-urban areas slowly where consumers are in position to pay more.

Alternative to ensure that farm produce is safe, is the integrated pest management (IPM) approach to manage pests. This approach also ensures judicious use of pesticides and advocate for safe harvesting interval so that farm produce is either pesticide-free or conforms to FSSAI standards on maximum residue limits. IPM approach has been a hall mark of Indian Government policy to reduce pesticide use since 1985 when the Government formulated its first agricultural policy. However, implementation of IPM is quite slow as it is knowledge intensive and needs to be practiced regularly and on a large scale. Availability of biological component in the IPM is constraint that farmers often faced. Farmers’ psychology to see instant kill of pest or get instant crop protection from disease was another constraint to implement IPM successfully. With new approach in the agricultural policy, the farmer-producer organizations can play a great role to implement IPM approach so that the farmers are able to control pests and ensure high yields, and at the same time, farm produce is either free of pesticide residues or contains pesticide residues below the permissible limits ensuring safety to humans. Furthermore, dealing with usage of pesticides and contamination of farm produce legally under the relevant Acts will be a way forward.

This approach needs to be branded as IPM certified farm produce similar to organic produce certification. Although monitoring of farms for implementation of iPM practices, given their size and diversity is difficult task; monitoring of pesticide residues in the farm produce especially the mandi [major marketing hubs] is the only way to deal with safety issues.