National Agrochemicals Congress concludes with recommendations for safe and judicious pesticide use in the country

News:Recently, the National Agro Chemical Congress was conducted at Indian Agricultural Research Institute(IARI),New Delhi.

Facts:

What are Agro-chemicals?

• Agro chemicals are the generic name given to chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides use in agricultural to facilitate plant growth and protection.

About National Agro Chemical Congress:

• The Congress is being conducted by Society of Pesticide Science India, Division of Agricultural Chemicals,ICAR-IARI.
• The theme of the congress was “Country’s Status on various fronts of Agro chemicals”.
• This was the first ever National Agrochemicals Congress and this will now be conducted once every three years.
• The aim of the congress was to highlight the role played by chemical pesticides in pest management.It also emphasized on target specific and environment friendly products.

Key takeaways from the congress:The congress has recommended various measures to improve efficient use of pesticides which are:

• To label the pesticides indicating their mode of action
• To rethink on restrictive banning of pesticides.
• Government has to bring in a policy regarding data protection of imported pesticides
• Policy for the introduction of safe nano-formulations and empowerment of farmers through training and extension.

Additional information:

About IARI:

• The Indian Agricultural Research Institute(IARI) commonly known as the Pusa Institute is India’s national Institute for agricultural research, education and extension. 
• The name Pusa Institute is derived from the fact that the institute was originally located in Pusa, Bihar as the Imperial Institute of Agricultural Research in 1911.It was then relocated to Delhi in 1936.
• The institute is financed and administered by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR).

About ICAR:

• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare , Government of India.
• The Council is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country.