Introduction

India’s agricultural sector is undergoing a notable transformation, particularly in the domain of crop protection chemicals, commonly referred to as pesticides. Traditionally dominated by insecticides and fungicides, the market is now witnessing robust growth in herbicides. This shift reflects deeper structural changes in rural labour availability, farming practices, and technology adoption. The evolving pesticide landscape offers insights into the future of Indian agriculture in an era marked by labour scarcity and mechanisation.

Understanding Crop Protection Chemicals

Crop protection chemicals include:

• Insecticides: Target pests like the white-backed plant hopper in rice.

• Fungicides: Address diseases such as rusts in wheat or sheath blight in rice.

• Herbicides: Control weeds competing for sunlight, nutrients, and water.

While insecticides (₹10,700 crore) continue to form the largest segment in India’s ₹24,500 crore domestic pesticide market, herbicides (₹8,200 crore) are now growing at over 10% annually, overtaking fungicides (₹5,600 crore) in momentum.

Why Herbicides Are Booming

1. Labour Shortage in Rural India

• Manual weeding is time-intensive and labour-intensive, taking 8-10 hours per acre.

• Rising rural wages—from ₹326.2/day in 2019 to ₹447.6 in 2024—make manual weeding costly.

• Availability is a bigger issue than cost: many are unwilling to take up strenuous fieldwork.

• Herbicides offer a fast, cost-effective substitute for manual and mechanical weeding.

2. Efficiency and Timeliness

• Power weeders require 2-3 hours per acre but are ineffective in densely cropped areas.

• Herbicides work across wide and narrow leaf weeds, offering broad-spectrum control.

• Newer formulations, like oil-dispersion types, provide faster, more even distribution.

Evolving Patterns in Herbicide Use

1. Post-Emergence vs Pre-Emergence Applications

• Traditionally, herbicides were applied post-emergence, i.e., after weeds appeared.

• Increasingly, pre-emergent herbicides are applied at or immediately after sowing to prevent weed growth.

• Early post-emergence herbicides are used in initial sensitive crop stages.

These strategies improve yield and reduce weed competition during critical growth phases.

2. Segment-wise Trends

• In paddy cultivation, ₹550 crore out of ₹1,500 crore herbicide use is now pre-emergent.

• In wheat, pre-emergents make up about 20% of the ₹1,000 crore herbicide market.

This points to a growing preference for preventive weed control, improving crop productivity and lowering dependence on unpredictable labour availability.

Role of Multinational and Indian Companies

1. Multinational Dominance

• Global giants like Bayer, Syngenta, Corteva, ADAMA, and Sumitomo dominate the Indian pesticide market.

• These firms control key active ingredients, R&D pipelines, and global distribution channels.

2. Indian Companies Catching Up

• Crystal Crop Protection Ltd (CCPL) and Dhanuka Agritech are rising Indian players.

• CCPL has acquired rights to herbicides like Ethoxysulfuron (from Bayer) and Gramoxone (from Syngenta).

• The firm’s sales in herbicides grew by 47% in 2024-25, much faster than the overall 10% sectoral growth.

3. Innovation and Collaboration

• CCPL’s partnership with US-based Battelle and Japan’s Mitsui AgriScience led to the launch of ‘Sikosa’, a new paddy herbicide.

• Sikosa, with a cost of ₹850–900 per acre, provides comprehensive weed control compared to ₹2,000+ for manual labour.

These initiatives show that Indian companies are becoming competitive through innovation, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships.

Broader Implications for Indian Agriculture

1. Mechanisation of Crop Protection

• Herbicides are becoming tools of mechanisation like tractors or harvesters.

• They save time, reduce reliance on seasonal labour, and enable timely farm operations.

2. Risk of Chemical Overuse

• The push for pre-emergent herbicides raises concerns about excessive chemical dependency.

• There’s a need for regulation to balance productivity with environmental sustainability.

3. Need for Domestic R&D Capacity

• Unlike seeds and fertilisers, India lacks strong domestic R&D in pesticides.

• A long-term goal must be to reduce reliance on imported active ingredients and MNCs.

Conclusion

The shift in India’s pesticide market towards herbicides signals a deeper transformation in the rural economy and agricultural practices. Driven by chronic labour shortages and the quest for efficiency, herbicides are emerging as the future of weed control. Indian firms are beginning to challenge multinational dominance through smart acquisitions and innovation. However, the road ahead must involve promoting domestic R&D, sustainable usage practices, and policy support to ensure that chemical solutions do not create new ecological challenges even as they solve old ones.

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