India has made rapid progress in the field of agriculture in recent years. Unfortunately, this largely remains unknown and uncelebrated. Between 1975 and 2014, India’s population increased 100%…. But our agricultural production increased 1,400% (i.e. 14 times)…. India now ranks second in the world in agricultural production.
Of the 3.52 million tonnes of pesticides (active ingredient) used in the world, the highest consuming regions are China, the US, EU, Brazil and Argentina. Together, they account for 90% of the pesticides used, globally. Even though India has the largest area (141 million hectares) under agricultural crops and is the second-largest agricultural producer ($367 billion) in the world, it accounts for just 1.7% of the global pesticides use. Compare that to the EU, which accounts for more than 11% of the global pesticides use, and uses 600% more pesticides than India does.
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That there is excessive use of pesticides in India is a false allegation and lacks empirical support. Countries in the EU are the main source of funds for environmental activists based in India. The agenda of these foreign-funded NGOs is clear—to tarnish the image of Indian agriculture, globally, as desired by their donors.
Editor’s note: Rajju Shroff is the founder of crop protection company UPL
Read full, original post: Debunking myths on pesticide use
