Lok Sabha Question No. 428 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-19
Subject: Reducing the use of Fertilizers and Pesticides
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Girish Bhalchandra Bapat, Rahul Ramesh Shewale, Pritam Gopinath Munde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOKSABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 428

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 19 TH  JULY, 2022

## REDUCING THE USE OF FERTILIZERS AND PESTICIDES

428 . SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU: SHRI GIRISH BHALCHANDRA BAPAT: SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE: DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be please to state:

- (a) whether the Government has invited private sector participation in reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides in farming in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the response of private sector thereof;
- (c) the details of the returns in the fields of agriculture and the post-harvest losses to the  farmers  during  each  of  the  last  three  years  in  the  country  particularly  in Maharashtra;
- (d) whether the Government proposes to encourage farmers to use technology to shift towards remunerative crops; and
- (e) if so, the details in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी ( SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR )

(a) & (b):      Government is promoting Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) i.e. soil test  based balanced and judicious use of chemical fertilizers, bio-fertilizers  and  locally available organic manures to maintain soil health and its productivity. Government has involved private entrepreneurs in the testing of soil samples for providing the soil health cards to all the farmers in the country under Soil Health Card Scheme of National Project on Management of Soil Health & Fertility. 2395 private entrepreneurs are participating in the testing of soil samples through the State Governments/UTs. Soil health card provides the information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendation on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.

Under  Integrated  Pest  Management  (IPM),  Government  has  conducted  various training programmes such as Farmers Field School (FFS), Kisan Gosthis, 2 days Human Resource  Development  (HRD)  programmes,  IPM  Exhibitions  and  Seed  Treatment Campaigns to farmers  through  its  36  Central  IPM  Centers (CIPMCs)  across  28  States and 2 Union Territories.  During the trainings, major emphasis is given on judicious use of chemical  pesticides  as  a  last  resort,  alternate  tools  for  pest  management  viz;  cultural, physical,  mechanical methods of pest  control as well as use  of bio-pesticides and biocontrol  agents,  safety  in  use  of  pesticides,  effects  of  pesticides  on  natural  enemies  of pests,  do's  and  don'ts  of  pesticide  including  proper  application  equipment  and  the technique.

(c): The return/yield of a crop depends on various factors such as weather extremities, rainfall,  soil  types,  agro-climatic  condition,  irrigation  facilities,  types  of  crops  cultivated, use  of  fertilizers  and  pesticides,  length  of  growing  seasons,  technology  used  etc. Government of India under National Food Security Mission (NFSM), is increasing food grains production through area expansion and productivity enhancement in the identified districts of the country. Under NFSM, assistance is given through state governments to farmers for interventions like cluster demonstrations on improved package of practices, demonstrations  on  cropping  system,  distributions  of  seeds  of  high  Yielding  Varieties (HYCVs) hybrids, improved farm machineries/resources conservation machineries/tools, efficient  water  application  tools,  plant  protection  measures,  nutrient  management/soil ameliorants, processing & post-harvest equipments, cropping system bases trainings etc. Further,  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  (ICAR)  is  continuously  working  on development/  adoption  of  new  technologies,  upgradation  of  existing  technologies  and provides quality seeds of newly developed varieties of crops to farmers. During 2017 to 2021,  a  total  of  1521  high  yielding  field  crop  varieties/hybrids  have  been  released  for various agro-climatic region of the country comprising of 691 of cereals, 222 of oilseeds, 247 of pulses, 91 of forage crops, 202 of fibre crops, 52 of sugar crops and 16 of other crops.  Resultantly,  the  yield  of  foodgrains  in  the  country  has  increased  from  2042 kg./hectare during 2015-16 to 2394 kg. / hectare in 2020-21.

(d) & (e):  Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) is being implemented in the country  and  scheme  aims at  'reaching  the  unreached'  by  bringing  to  the small  and marginal farmers in the core and giving the benefits of farm mechanization, by Promoting 'Custom  Hiring  Centers',  creating  hubs  for  hi-tech  &  high  value  farm  equipment, distribution  of  various  agricultural  equipment,  creating  awareness  among  stakeholders through demonstration and capacity building activities, and ensuring performance testing and  certification  at  designated  testing  centers  located  all  over  the  country.  In  order  to promote digital agriculture with a view to encourage farmers to use technology, leading Technology/Agri-tech/Start-ups companies were identified and invited to collaborate with the Government of India and develop Proof of Concepts (PoC) based on data of select Districts/Villages.  Similarly,  under  National  e-Governance  Plan  in  Agriculture  guideline, funds are released to the States/Union Territories for the projects involving use of modern information technologies such as such as Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Block Chain Technology, Internet of Things, Robotics etc., and for customization/shifting of web & mobile applications already developed by the States, to the platform to be developed using digital technologies. Various mobile applications including KisanSuvidha have also been  developed  to  facilitate  dissemination  of  information  to  farmers  on  the  critical parameters  viz.,  Weather,  Market  Prices,  Plant  Protection,  Agro-advisory,  Extreme Weather  Alerts,  Inputs  Dealers  (of  seed,  pesticide,  Fertilizer,  Farm  Machinery),  Soil Health Card, Cold Storage & Godowns, Soil Testing Laboratories and Veterinary Centre & Diagnostic labs, Crop Insurance Premium Calculator and the Government schemes.

*******