Counterfeit Agro-Inputs Raise Concern for Indian Farmers as 35% Report Recent Exposure

25 August 2026, New Delhi: India’s farmers are facing a significant challenge from counterfeit agricultural inputs, with a substantial share of respondents reporting exposure to fake products. According to the 2025 State of Counterfeiting in India report by Crisil Intelligence and the Authentication Solution Providers’ Association (ASPA), 35% of respondents reported encountering a counterfeit agro-product at least once in the previous 12 months. Farmers perceived that around 30% of agro-input products in the market may be counterfeit, while 82% believed counterfeiting in agro-products had increased over the past year.

The findings are significant for India’s agricultural sector, where the authenticity and quality of fertilizers, pesticides and other crop inputs can directly influence farm productivity and crop protection.

Local agri-input retailers remain a key channel

The report identifies local retail outlets as a major channel through which counterfeit agro-products reach farmers. 75% of respondents who reported counterfeit purchases said they encountered them through local agri-input retailers, while 18% reported purchases through informal supply chains.

The fragmented nature of agricultural distribution, involving multiple manufacturers, distributors, retailers and intermediaries, can create gaps in product traceability and provide opportunities for counterfeit products to enter legitimate supply chains.

Farmers willing to pay more for genuine products

Price remains one of the factors enabling counterfeit products to compete with genuine inputs. Respondents perceived counterfeit agro-products to be around 24% cheaper than genuine products. However, the survey also indicates a strong preference for authenticity.

Farmers were willing to pay an average 14% premium for guaranteed genuine agro-inputs, the highest willingness to pay among the sectors covered in the study.

This suggests that farmers place a high value on confidence in product authenticity and may accept a higher price when genuine products can be reliably verified.

Authentication remains a major gap

Despite the concern over counterfeit inputs, respondents’ ability to identify fake products remains limited. Only 58% said they were confident that they could identify counterfeit agro-products. Packaging and labelling were the most commonly used indicators, with 63% relying on these features, while only 26% checked authentication features such as holograms or traceability codes.

The findings point to a gap between growing awareness of counterfeiting and the practical ability to authenticate products at the point of purchase.

276 fake agrochemical cases recorded between 2018 and 2025

ASPA’s counterfeit news repository recorded 276 instances involving fake agrochemical products between 2018 and 2025. The report states that the number of incidents increased by around 2.5 times compared with 2018, while fertilizers accounted for approximately 40% of the reported incidents, highlighting the vulnerability of the segment.

The report also records 50 cases in 2018, 51 in 2019, 47 in 2020, 38 in 2021, 33 in 2022, 21 in 2023, 19 in 2024 and 17 in 2025 in its media-based agro-product counterfeiting series. These figures represent reported incidents and should not be interpreted as the actual size of the counterfeit market.

Supply-chain visibility remains critical

Retailer responses indicate that counterfeit agrochemicals enter the market through both local and interstate channels. According to the retailer survey, 40% of counterfeit agrochemicals were sourced locally, while 48% were sourced from other states.

The report identifies Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand among the most affected markets, while also highlighting Karnataka, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as states affected by counterfeit pesticide activity.

For India’s agricultural sector, the findings underline the importance of stronger product authentication, supply-chain traceability, farmer awareness and verified distribution channels. With respondents indicating a willingness to pay more for guaranteed genuine inputs, improved authentication could help protect farmers, crop productivity and the credibility of legitimate agrochemical and fertilizer manufacturers.

Also Read: ASSOCHAM to Host 4th Agritech Summit 2026 in New Delhi on October 26

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