Pesticide Consumption in India

A recent report by a non-profit organisation, Pesticide Action Network, showed an increase in the use of pesticides in India.

Trends in Usage

The report showed that the pesticide consumption in India has increased by 13.07% between 2014-15 and 2018-19. Of the total amount of pesticides used in India, only 10% is biopesticide. The number of active ingredients in the pesticides has increased to 292- which is 27% higher than in 2011. While the use of fungicides and rodenticides has declined, the use of weedicide and insecticide has increased.

High Use States

In 2018-19, more than 60,000 tonnes of pesticides were used in India. The data does not include pesticide consumption in the UTs and the north-east states and hence could be higher in reality. The highest pesticide consumption over the last 5 years were in Maharashtra (61,138 tonnes), Uttar Pradesh (52,747 tonnes), Punjab (29,394 tonnes).

Aldrin

The study highlighted the continued use of aldrin, a banned pesticide, in India. Despite its ban in 2014, 79 tonnes of the pesticide was imported in 2015-16. It is an organochlorine compound used as an insecticide. It posses danger to the environment due to its ability to bio-accumulate.