18 September 2026, New Delhi: India could address the problem of counterfeit pesticides if the National Integrated Pest Management System (IPMS) is fully implemented, Dr. Subhash Chand, Secretary, Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee (CIB&RC), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said at CropLife India’s National Conference in New Delhi.
Dr. Chand was speaking at the conference on ‘AI for Agriculture Transformation’, organised by CropLife India on September 17. He also urged the crop protection industry to collectively develop an AI-based tool or application to help farmers identify pests and make informed decisions on the right pesticide, at the right time and in the right dose.
According to Dr. Chand, the National IPMS database enables track-and-trace mechanisms to establish product authenticity through the dealer network. He said full implementation of the system could help address the sale of counterfeit pesticides to farmers.
Crop Protection Report Highlights Yield Losses, Land Use Pressure
CropLife India, in partnership with YES BANK, also unveiled a report titled ‘Innovation in Crop Protection Sector’ at the conference.
The report estimates that India’s net sown area could shrink by 10% by 2050 due to the conversion of agricultural land for urban uses. It also estimates that the country currently loses approximately ₹2 lakh crore worth of crop yield annually due to pests and diseases.
The report notes that these pressures could intensify with climate change and calls for increasing productivity per hectare, including by reducing crop losses caused by pests and diseases.
Among the reforms highlighted in the report are greater digitalisation, stronger farmer extension services and increased domestic R&D through incentives such as the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. It also calls for a One Nation, One Licence framework valid across states and a five-year Regulatory Data Protection (RDP) incentive to encourage the entry of newer crop protection solutions into India.
Industry Leaders Discuss the Future of Crop Protection
The conference’s CEO Panel brought together industry leaders to discuss the outlook for the agrochemical industry towards 2035.
During the CEO’s Panel at the conference, industry leaders shared their outlook for the industry for 2035. Ankur Aggarwal, Executive Chairman & MD of Crystal Crop Protection mentioned that the industry will witness more proximate innovations, beyond discovery for each mode of action. He further shared that robotics could also play a major role in the future. Dr. Gyanendra Shukla, MD & CEO of Rallis India shared that digital channels would become quite important, impact margins. He further said that AI can define the next phase of growth for the industry.
Mohan Babu, COO, Bayer CropScience shared that the industry would shift to an integrated approach, beyond just chemicals or biologicals solutions, involving technology like AI, enhanced seeds and gene editing. Giridhar Ranuva, Business Director at BASF Agricultural Solutions highlighted the role climate change will play, with outcome-based agriculture gaining significance. Rahul Dhanuka, MD of Dhanuka Agritech mentioned that solutions that India builds, including AI-based applications, will democratise mechanisation and rest of the world will draw from India’s experiences.
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