CropLife India Urges Govt to Refrain From Hasty Curbs on Pesticides

• CropLife urged no rushed Paraquat/Carbosulfan bans; 2024 study shows debt—not pesticides—drives farmer suicides in Telangana/AP

• Weeds cause ₹92,000 crore annual loss; Paraquat used on 8Mn acres, Carbosulfan on 3.2Mn acres paddy

• Bans don't remove root causes (debt, failed crops); urged kharif sowing consideration, offered data to expert committe

Crop protection industry body CropLife India on Tuesday urged the government not to impose restrictions on pesticides such as Paraquat Dichloride and Carbosulfan in a rush, as this may not be helpful in curbing farmer suicides.

In a statement, CropLife India argued that economic distress, not access to agrochemicals, is the primary cause of farmer suicides.

The appeal follows Telangana's move to restrict the two products amid concerns over deaths from poisoning.

"A restriction removes the means, but it does not remove the root cause," CropLife India said in its statement, warning that curbs on widely used agri inputs could deepen the financial strain for the farmers.

The body cited a 2024 study in the Indian Journal of Community Medicine that identified debt as the central driver of farmer suicides in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, as well as research linking suicide rates to rainfall deficits rather than availability of pesticides.

It highlighted the economic stakes of any mid-season ban, noting that weeds cause an estimated loss of ₹92,000 crore in crop productivity annually.

Paraquat, priced at roughly ₹300-350 per acre, is applied across nearly 8 million acres of tea, cotton, potato and other crops. Carbosulfan is one of the few effective controls against gall midge in paddy, used on some 3.2 million acres.

"The key issue is that a farmer's distress does not disappear when a product is removed overnight. The debt, the failed crop and the fear of what comes next remain," said Ankur Aggarwal, Chairman of CropLife India. "If the aim is to save lives, the response must reach that cause." The industry body urged the government to consider farmers' needs, especially as the kharif sowing season begins, when farmers have already planned and committed to their inputs for the year.

CropLife India, which represents 17 companies accounting for roughly 70 per cent of India's crop protection market, said it welcomed the government's decision to form an expert committee and offered to contribute field data to the review.