Only 86 pesticide formulations in 34 years: Parliamentary Committee raps IPFT

New Delhi: Expressing concern over the pace of work at the Institute of Pesticide Formulation Technology (IPFT), a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Tuesday said that the autonomous institution has developed only 86 pesticide formulations in the last 34 years, which is an average of less than three per year. The 19th report of the Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers, presented in Parliament, examined the performance of IPFT, which functions under the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers.

The committee, however, appreciated the contribution of IPFT in developing user-friendly and environmentally friendly pesticide formulations, but emphasised the need for greater focus, annual targets, and faster delivery. Founded in 1991 as a successor to the UNIDO-assisted Pesticide Development Programme in India, IPFT has so far transferred 64 of its developed formulation technologies to the industry.

While appreciating this achievement, the committee noted that the overall rate of development has been quite slow and recommended an immediate review of IPFT’s performance to ensure its output is more commensurate with the requirements of farmers and the agrochemical industry.

The committee also expressed its concern over IPFT’s continued dependence on government grants for meeting its salary, general, and capital expenditures despite its long existence. The committee said that by now, IPFT should have attained a greater degree of autonomy in its financial matters through technology transfer, analytical services, and consultancy. The committee asked IPFT to take immediate steps to cut down its dependence on the department’s finances.

Drawing attention to the advantages of new generation pesticide formulations developed by IPFT, such as water-based suspension concentrates, microemulsions, and bio-botanical products, the committee emphasised that these environmentally safer alternatives must reach the farmers at reasonable prices. The committee warned that if the pricing of these products is left solely to the industry partners, it may become costly and recommended that IPFT and the department should jointly work towards evolving reasonable pricing mechanisms.

The committee examined IPFT’s farmer awareness initiatives taken during 2022-23, which they said were not satisfactory, as only around 9,200 farmers have been reached through 32 programmes over a period of three years, which they felt was not adequate, considering India had more than 10 crore farmers. It suggested that there should be a roadmap to increase these activities, including through mass media at a regional level.

They recognised the positive feedback from farmers on eco-friendly and bio-botanical products, but emphasised the importance of education for better adoption, especially in cases where the products take a certain time to show results, unlike conventional chemical pesticides. There was also a need for better data on the impact of the latest generation of formulations on the productivity of crops such as wheat and paddy.

The committee also observed that the IPFT, despite having established its pilot plants and advanced laboratories, did not utilise the infrastructure to carry out large-scale production. They also suggested that the IPFT should explore the possibility of producing and marketing its formulations to compete with the players.

There have been concerns over vacant scientific positions in the IPFT; hence, there was a need to hasten the recruitment to increase efficiency. With regard to formulation development not transferred to the industry, the panel sought a professional assessment to highlight differences in development needs, approval needs, and demand. The committee has invited the IPFT as well as the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals to submit detailed action-taken reports on the above recommendations, with the emphasis on faster, farmer-centric, and market-responsive innovations in pesticide formulation technology.