Bio-stimulants emerging as new sector in agri space

Hyderabad: Bio-stimulants is emerging as a new sector and their reputation needs to be improved as the world is looking at India for them, says Dr SK Malhotra, Project Director at ICAR Directorate of Knowledge Management and Former Agricultural Commissioner, Govt of India. He spokeas thechief guest at 2nd Edition of BioAgri Solutions Conference and Exhibition held here on Wednesday.

'India – The Global Gateway for BioAgri Solutions' is the theme of the two-day event, which was organised by the 19-year-old Hyderabad-based trade bodyBioAgri Input Producers Association (BIPA). Many distinguished professionals in the industry such as Sulphur Mills LtdChairman Deepak Shah, PJ Margo owner Pradeep Jaipuria and office bearers of BIPA took part in the inaugural function.

Addressing the gathering, Dr SK Malhotra said that the three pillars of agriculture are soil, seeds and fertilisers. Now, four more are added – machines, bio-stimulants, pollinators and agronomy & analytics.The MSME-dominated bio-stimulant market in India has regulatory framework in place. These companies are subject to regulatory provisions put forth by the Government of India.

As the bio-stimulant market is still evolving, the regulatory framework should be re-reviewed to addresschanging needs and challenges, he said, adding that bio-stimulants' prime benefit is they increase metabolic activity. Their cellular mechanism interaction needs to be researched. This will give strength and power to the plants and address mitigating abiotic stress.

Malhotra further said, "Bio-stimulants discussed as agri-inputs because people all over the world want safe food. Europe is a big market. There is a demand to include microbial in bio-stimulants category. So, regularly guidelines need to be re-visited to address these demands. The BIPA can play a bigger role in helping firm up more comprehensive policy guidelines."

During the event, Dr Gagnesh Sharma, Director of the National Centre for Organic and Natural Farming (NCONF), said: "Government is planning to bring 14-million-hectare land, which is close to 10 per cent of total arable land under organic farming by 2025, whereas the current organic farming coverage is 28 lakh hectares, nearly 2 per cent of the total farmland of the country."

NCONF is a nodal organisation for the promotion of organic farming under the Department of Agriculture, Government of India. It came into existence for implementing National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF).Sharma spoke about the government's initiatives to popularise bio-fertilisers in India. Thecountry has 537 bio-fertiliser units with an installed capacity of 3 lakh metric tonne.

Biotech Consortium of India's report indicates three times the requirement of bio-fertilisers in the country by 2025 in comparison to the present installed capacity, tocater to the growing demand for organic products.