A big issue in food safety is the limit of chemical residues. In 2005-06 the Union Ministry of Agriculture launched a central sector scheme called Monitoring of Pesticide Residues at National Level (MPRNL). One of the major objectives was to identify the crops and regions having preponderance of pesticide residues.
It was designed to focus extension efforts on Integrated Pest Management and Good Agriculture Practices (GAP), so that the food items consumed by Indians are safe and healthy.
Under the All-India Network Project on Pesticide Residues, coordinated by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, random samples of agriculture commodities are collected and analysed to check the presence of pesticide residues.
It was found that during 2012-18, out of 121,944 samples from all over India, 2,878 (2.4 per cent) samples exceeded the maximum residue level (MRL) of pesticides prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). For rice 1,177 samples were analysed, out of which 85 (7.2 per cent) rice samples were found exceeding MRL. Even more worryingly 65 (5.5 per cent) rice samples were detected with pesticides that were not even approved by the Government.
In January to July 2024, 16,370 samples were analysed and pesticide residues were detected in 35.7 per cent samples, while the residues in 2.6 per cent samples were found exceeding FSSAI’s MRL. Residues of off-label pesticides were detected in 26.5 per cent samples.
While the regulatory regime, largely implemented by the state governments through food inspectors at district level, has to ensure that food items available in the market confirm to FSSAI regulations, science is now providing an alternative solution through biologicals. This can reduce unnecessary consumption of excessive pesticides and thus improve the availability of safe agricultural produce for consumers.
Biological substitutes for chemical fertilisers and pesticides are increasingly being promoted by private companies to improve soil health, increase organic carbon and improve the biological life. Use of microbes, plant extracts and organic matter is included in the wider term of biologicals.
A plant bio-stimulant is any substance or microorganism that can improve nutrition efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance. Scientists claim these substances can improve plant growth and resilience to stress, for example, drought or extreme temperatures, without directly targeting pests or diseases. For example, mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal fungi, bacterial endosymbionts (like Rhizobium) and Rhizobacteria are categorised as bio-stimulants.
The most important use of them is as biopesticides that can help control pests and diseases using microbes or plant-based compounds. Biofertilisers are claimed to enhance soil fertility by increasing the availability of nutrients through microbial activity.
Artificially multiplied cultures of suitable micro-organisms are used to accelerate the microbial processes in soil. They can be cost-effective as a source of nutrients to the soil. This can reduce the consumption of chemical fertilisers.
For urea, only about 30-40 per cent is used by the plants, while the rest is lost due to volatilisation, leaching and denitrification. This causes generation of ammonia gas and seeping of nitrogen into the soil. Some urea can run off to water channels also. All these contribute to pollution and even global warming.
The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) has developed several strains of bio-fertilisers that are specific to different crops and soil types.
Punjab Agriculture University has also developed a bio-pesticide, which is a strain of Trichoderma asperellum. It is a soil fungus which can improve plant’s growth-promoting properties. It is claimed that this product can combat foot rot, a fungal disease (Bakane disease) in basmati rice. In view of large export of basmati rice from Punjab and Haryana, it can be an important intervention to improve the yield and obtain better quality of basmati rice.
Despite the potential of biologicals in Indian agriculture, their use has remained quite muted. Biopesticides, for instance, represent only 4.2 per cent of the overall pesticide market in India, compared to 40 per cent in the United Statec and 20 per cent in Europe.
Dissemination for more information through media and Krishi Vigyan Kendras can inform the farmers about the efficient mechanism of naturally produced biological products in preventing pest attacks and improving the quality of food they produce.
The author is a former Union Agriculture Secretary. Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth.