Friday, Sep 19, 2003
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By Our Special Correspondent
"India gave leadership and for the first time the developed countries were on the defensive," he said in his first reaction on the sidelines of the fourth Asia-Pacific Crop Protection Conference here. He said the failure of the developed countries to cut back on their domestic and export subsidies would not have any fallout on the Indian agriculture sector. "India, with its population of 100 crore people is a huge market; therefore the developed countries can hardly afford to ignore us." Inaugurating the conference, the Minister called upon the industry to develop "more eco-friendly and safe" pesticides. Raising the issue of pesticide residue contamination of drinking water, agriculture produce and other food items, Mr. Singh urged the agro-chemical industry to play its role — independently, as well as in coordination with government agencies — in limiting the adverse impact arising out of pesticide use. "It would be a happy situation for the country if we can develop safer, fast degrading and less toxic pesticides and can use them as per their recommended dosage." Pointing out that several health hazards had been caused due to ignorance of farmers regarding good agricultural practices, particularly in pesticide use, he said that it must be ensured that our agricultural products were healthy, safe and free from all pesticide residue. This was essential not only from the point of view of health but also farm produce export. This would mean cutting down dependence on chemical pesticides and tapping the potential for bio-pesticides, he added. The pesticide industry had a special responsibility of providing farmers with quality products at reasonable prices. Those who supply spurious and sub-standard pesticides would be dealt with stringently, he said. The Secretary, Agriculture, R.C.A. Jain said India needed to review use of pesticides banned in other countries so that it did not become a dumping ground for banned chemicals. The Government's policy was to encourage environment-friendly approaches such as Integrated Pest Management for crop protection with minimal use of chemicals. The consumption of chemical pesticides had been reduced from 66,000 tonnes in 1994-95 to 47,000 tonnes in 2001-02. The two-day Conference is jointly organised by FICCI and the Pesticides Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India. Disappointment over outcome The Director-General of the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute, R.P. Cantrell, today said he was disappointed at the way the World Trade Organisation talks went at Cancun. "There are lot of inequities in the WTO. We hoped there would be some progress but I am not sure it could have gone any other way.'' Dr. Cantrell was here to release `A Treatise on the Scented Rices of India' edited by agriculture scientists, R.K. Singh of the IRRI and U.S. Singh of the G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology. "India is home not only to the famous basmati rice but other scented rices which are found in different parts of the country. But a number of them are facing the danger of becoming extinct,'' he said. The IRRI was now setting up a laboratory to improve the quality of rice in terms of grain, aroma and nutritional value, rather than on increasing yield. Dr. Cantrell hoped that the Vitamin-A rich golden rice would hit the market in three years. Research was on with a non-antibiotic marker. However, all research was hampered by cutback in funding. Dr. R.K. Singh expressed concern over the crises of identity and aroma of traditional rice variety due to the over-use of chemical fertilizers and poor soil health. H.K. Jain, geneticist, said that India had the potential to become the world's number one exporter of rice.
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