Pesticides Management Bill, 2020 – Economics – Free PDF Download

CURRENT AFFAIR

• The Pesticides Management Bill, 2020 has been approved by the Union Cabinet.

DETAILS

• The Bill will regulate the business of pesticides and compensate farmers in case of losses from the use of agrochemicals.
• Agrochemicals imply chemicals used in agriculture, such as a pesticide or fertilizer.
• Currently, the pesticide business is regulated by rules under the Insecticides Act 1968.

FEATURES- Pesticide Data

• It will empower farmers by providing them with all the information about the strength and weakness of pesticides, the risk and alternatives. All information will be available openly as data in digital format and in all languages.

Compensation

• The Bill has a unique feature in the form of a provision for compensations in case there is any loss because of the spurious or low quality of pesticides.
• If required, a central fund will be formed to take care of the compensations.

Organic Pesticides

• The Bill also intends to promote organic pesticides.

 Registration of Pesticide Manufacturers

• All pesticide manufacturers have to be registered and bound by the new Act, once it is passed.
• The advertisements of pesticides will be regulated so there should be no confusion or no cheating by the manufacturers.

Use of Pesticides in India

• India is among the leading producers of pesticides in Asia.
• In the domestic market, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana are among the states with the highest recorded consumption.
• India is the fourth-largest producer of pesticides in the world.
• Pesticide market is further projected to reach a value of Rs 316 billion by 2024.
• The total as well as per hectare consumption of pesticides in India shows a significant increase after 2009-10.
• As the cost of manual weed control has risen due to an increase in agricultural wages, this is one of the reasons for the recent increase in pesticide use.

 Issues Related to Pesticides in India

• Harmful Effects on Farmers: Experts believe that chronic low-level pesticide exposure is associated with a broad range of nervous system symptoms such as headache, fatigue, dizziness, tension, anger, depression, and impaired memory, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease, among others.
• Harmful Effect on Consumers: Pesticides go up the food chain by working their way through the environment and into the soil or the water systems after which they are eaten by aquatic animals or plants and ultimately humans. This process is called Biomagnification.
• Harmful Effect on Agriculture: Continued use of pesticides for decades has contributed significantly to the current ecological, economic and existential crisis of the Indian agriculture sector.
• Regulatory Issues: Although agriculture is a state subject producing, education and research are governed under the Insecticides Act, 1968 which is a central Act, and hence state governments have no direct role in amending it. an estimated
• 104 pesticides that are still produced/ used in India, that have been banned in two or more countries in the world.

Biomagnification

• The process by which a compound (such as a pollutant or pesticide) increases its concentration in the tissues of organisms as it travels up the food chain.

Insecticides Act, 1968

• It was brought into force with effect from August 1971
• Regulating the import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution and use of insecticides in order to prevent risk to human beings and animals.
• Central Insecticides Board was established under Section 4 of the Act and it works under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
• The board advises the central government and state governments on technical matters arising out of the administration of the act and to carry out the other functions assigned to it.

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