Well-timed regulations for biologicals can answer India’s agricultural worries

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With India becoming the most populous country globally, meeting its food and nutritional adequacy through sustainable growth of agriculture has become very essential for it. India needs to double its food production by 2025 and triple it by 2050.

Besides, challenges related to the safety of the environment, food and farmers also need to be addressed urgently. The importance of critical agricultural inputs has gained significant importance as enablers of integrated farm management.

Today, biology can take many different forms and applications. They include biostimulants, biopesticides, and biofertilizers. These solutions can be applied in plant, in foliar form, or in soil to target plant pathogens, nematodes, and insects.

We can even drop living, breathing, walking, and sometimes flying biocides in the form of parasites or predatory arthropods from a drone or from a sprayer.

At the end of the day, what we’re doing when we’re biologically colonizing a growing environment. Be it with a bacterium, insect, arthropod or nematode. We colonize space to overcome, consume, and/or reduce pathogens or pests.

Key timing

Timing is an important part of the IPM conversation as we have to play with application phases to determine when a biological solution will best benefit a farmer’s crop. For most crops, this is usually earlier in the season, earlier in the pest’s life cycle, and earlier than we might think.

Then we have to think about the rest of the season and the tools we use to determine how we want to run our traditional and biological working methods. Part of this planning includes studying pathogen or pest biology and phenology.

Keeping this in mind helps us maximize the effectiveness of biological materials in this field. The biological category is gaining traction. So why should farmers give biologics a fair shake?

I look at biologics like this: biologics are often a preventative measure. They are not usually ‘fixative’ like the vast majority of our traditional chemistries – it is important to note that we have traditional chemistries available which are also preventive. I think it is more useful to treat biological materials as part of an integrated system rather than as a problem.

from scientifict side:

  • Biologics are an extra tool in the toolbox to help mitigate and slow down resistance. As an alternative mode of action and often route of exposure, it plays the role of a rotational partner and can complement conventional pesticides in a comprehensive crop management strategy.

  • Signal words and exposure risks are the pain points that biological denies can have for farmers. Currently, there are no maximum residue levels (MRLs) associated with biological materials.

  • They are preventatives in the sense of preventing pests and diseases but they can also prevent more sprays later in the season. This helps save the farmer money, reduce the need for labor, reduce equipment operation and associated fuel costs, and reduce exposure to high-risk work patterns.

lack of access

While the average Indian farmer continues to use traditional biological solutions, his global counterparts are steadily moving towards advanced biological preparations, or even their own pre-mixes, apart from new generation pheromones, etc.

While Indian farmers are second to none in adopting advanced technologies to enhance crop yields, they do not have access to such products because Indian regulators have not yet set the required guidelines for the registration of such products.

Adoption by farmers of existing biological solutions, despite continued extension work and subsidies to promote them, is very slow due to their unreliable biological efficacy. Unlike their global counterparts, they are less stable under Indian conditions.

Multi-pronged approach

India’s current aspirations are not only to be self-sufficient but also to be a global supplier of food and a major player in organic farming. This entails the country getting the biological material out of the sandbox. To this end, here are some urgent steps that India needs to take:

● Better preference towards the latest technology: With the necessary protection against possible ‘misuse’ of standards that may affect the interest of farmers and companies, the latest agricultural technology should be explored. As in the case of drones, regulators must bite the lead and advance the science.

Allowing registration of imported biological materials in India, and attracting top innovators with incentives to manufacture such biological materials in India would be highly desirable steps in this direction. In addition, once safety and regulatory requirements are met, approvals for these products must be fast-tracked.

● Need for government guidance on new crop solutions: Provide well-informed guidance on the latest technologies such as sprayable pheromones with active industry involvement. This will promote the largest pest management ecosystem in India without any harmful impact on the environment. These advanced products are more environmentally friendly due to their strong photosensitivity and thermal sensitivity.

● Build on existing R&D infrastructure: To attract significant private and public investment and offset current low spending on biologicals, R&D growth is critical. Using existing mechanisms such as developing a public-private partnership infrastructure could go a long way in developing customized products. Moreover, India’s pool of scientists in the field of biotechnology and biosciences is an asset that can make the country a reliable global supplier of biotechnology.

● Benefit from innovative agricultural projects: Globally, many start-ups are being created in the field of biology. FMC recently acquired Biophero, the largest pheromone company in the world, and launched its own biophero segment.

● The ecosystem should be strengthened to protect the intellectual rights of such products to protect the interests of innovators so that they do not lose their investment.

The role of the private sector

The country needs simultaneous multi-stakeholder communication on the importance of biologicals as part of a larger pest management strategy, with efficient use of inputs. In fact, with the correct use of chemical fertilizers, biologics can improve their effectiveness, while protecting the soil.

In the connected world, information travels at the speed of light. Therefore, institutions and private regulators can keep a tab on the latest developments in the sector and work to develop the necessary guidelines for robust crop health.

Effective regulation must precede marketing, rather than marketing pending preparation of a regulatory framework. Through collaboration between the public and private sectors, the industry can be a hub for knowledge and resources. It is time to mainstream agricultural innovations with an integrated approach and enable their timely introduction in India.

The author is Director of Public and Industrial Affairs, FMC India