NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING,

JAIPUR

Current Scenario of
Biopesticides
An Assignment of Agri Input Marketing

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Dr. P. Venugopal Amit Bishnoi(107)
XLRI, Jamshedpur Kamlesh Yadav(127)
Nirupama Lakra(136)
Rahul Kumar(148)
Shalini Mishra(155)
Varun Chaudhary(164)
Biopesticides
Biopesticides are naturally occurring substances that control pests (biochemical pesticides),
microorganisms that control pests (microbial pesticides), and pesticidal substances produced by
plants containing added genetic material (plant-incorporated protectants) also know as PIPs
Biopesticides, particularly microbial Biopesticides, have virtually all the health safety and
environmental properties that one would desire in a pesticide Microbial insecticides are come
from naturally-occurring bacteria, fungi, viruses.

Biopesticide in India
Biopesticides represent only 2.89% (as on 2005) of the overall pesticide market in India and is
expected to exhibit an annual growth rate of about 2.3% in the coming years (Thakore, 2006). In
India, so far only 12 types of biopesticides have been registered under the Insecticide Act, 1968
(www.nicm.org.in/biopesticides/registered.htm). Neem based pesticides, Bacillus thuringensis,
NPV and Trichoderma are the major biopesticides produced and used in India
(http://coe.mse.ac.in/taxproj.asp). Whereas more than 190 synthetics are registered for use as
chemical pesticides. Most of the biopesticides find use in public health, except a few that are
used in agriculture. Besides, i) transgenic plants and ii) beneficial organisms called bio-agents:
are used for pest management in India.
Consumption of biopesticides has increased from 219 metric tons in 1996-97 to 683 metric tons
in 2000-01, and about 85% of the biopesticides used are neem based products. Consumption of
chemical pesticides has significantly fallen from 56,114 MT to 43,584 MT during the same
period.
Some success stories about successful utilization of biopesticides and bio-control agents in
Indian agriculture include (Kalra & Khanuja, 2007):

· Control of diamondback moths by Bacillus thuringiensis.

· Control of mango hoppers and mealy bugs and coffee pod borer by Beauveria.
· Control of Helicoverpa on cotton, pigeon-pea, and tomato by Bacillus thuringiensis.
· Control of white fly on cotton by neem products.
· Control of Helicoverpa on gram by N.P.V.
· Control of sugarcane borers by Trichogramma.
· Control of rots and wilts in various crops by Trichoderma-based products.

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 Table 1: Annual availability of biopesticides in India

Biopesticides/Bioagents Quantity/annum (approx)

Neem 300 PPM 1,000,000 L
Neem 1500 PPM 250,000 L
Bt 50,000 kg
NPV (liquid) 500,000 Le
Beauveria Meager
Pheromone traps 500,000 nos.
Lures 2 million
Trichogramma 1 million
Chrysoperla & other
Meager
biocontrol insects
Trichoderma 500 T

Source: Kalra & Khanuja 2007

Benefits

• Usually inherently less toxic than conventional pesticides

– Environmental and worker welfare
• Produce little if any residue
– Food safety
• Generally have a narrow spectrum of activity
– Low direct impact on non targets, including humans and wildlife
• Use often compatible with other control agents
• May aid chemical pesticide performance when used together
– Enhanced control
– Help prevent/delay chemical pesticide resistance
• Mode of action not specific
– Reduced risk of developing resistance
• Used as a component of ICM may decrease use of chemical pesticides
– Crop quality and yields remain high
• Flexible approach to ‘pest’ management
– Natural enemies can reproduce in the pest population and respond to changes
• Help meet market demands/expecations for
– Environmentally friendly agriculture
– Reduced chemical pesticide residues

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There are a number of instances where bio control agents have been successfully employed in
India. Some examples of these are given below:

1. Growth of lantana weed was controlled by using the bug Telonemia scrupulosa
2. Sugarcane pyrilla has been successfully controlled in a number of States by the
introduction of its natural enemy Epiricania melanoleuca and Tetrastictus pyrillae.
3. Trichogramma, which feeds on the eggs of sugarcane borers, has been used against the
borers in the states of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar and Haryana.
4. Similarly Trichogramma, Bracon, Chelonus and Chrysopa spp. are being used for the
control of cotton bollworms. Trichogramma has also been used against rice stem borer
and leaf folder.
5. The sugarcane scale insect has been controlled with the help of
predatory coccinellid beetles in UP, West Bengal, Gujarat and Karnataka.

The popularity of biopesticides has increased in recent years, as extensive and systematic
research has greatly enhanced their effectiveness. Also, techniques for the mass production,
storage, transport and application of biopesticides have been improved in recent years.

Potential of Biopesticide in India

The importance of biopesticides in Indian agriculture as a component of the Integrated Pest
Management System. But there are certain limitations like irregular availability of biopesticides
in the market and the gradual disappearance of mixed/multiple cropping affecting the growth of
biopesticides. It is observed that India occupies a comparatively better position in the arena of
biopesticides; in terms of growth of usage, percentage share of the total pesticide market and also
in research publications. The driving forces behind this progress are identified as huge research
infrastructure (universities and bio-control labs) and favorable public support system/policies.

So far, use of synthetic chemical pesticides had been the widely used approach for reducing the
estimated 45% gross crop loss due to pests and diseases, amounting to around Rs. 290 billion per
annum. More and more quantities of chemicals are used for agricultural intensification to feed an
ever growing population. In fact, the pest induced loss is on the rise despite increasing usage of
pesticides. Fortunately, realization of the negative effects of these chemicals on nature and
natural resources like pollution, pesticide residue, pesticide resistance etc, have forced many to
shift focus on to more reliable, sustainable and environment friendly agents of pest control, the

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biopesticides. In spite of the claimed efficacy, their use, however, has remained very low due to a
number of socio-economic, technological and institutional constraints. Nonetheless, rise in
income levels due to a growing economy coupled with increasing awareness of health related
effects of chemical pesticides has increased the demand of organic food. In view of this demand
and the government’s efforts to mitigate climate change, biopesticides are going to play an
important role in future pest management programmes.

Scope of Biopesticides
The striking feature of biopesticides is environment friendliness and easy biodegradability,
thereby resulting in lower pesticide residues and largely avoiding pollution problems associated
with chemical pesticides. Further, use of biopesticides as a component of Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) programs can greatly decrease the use of conventional (chemical) pesticides,
while achieving almost the same level of crop yield. However, effective use of biopesticides
demands understanding of a great deal about managing pests especially by the end users.
In terms of production and commercialization also biopesticides have an edge over chemical
pesticides like low research expenditure, faster rate of product development as well as flexible
registration process.

Future business prospects

Biopesticides In India , the annual estimate damage ( 20%-30%) caused by pests ,diseases and
weeds in various crops in the field and stored grains was Rs. 60-70 billion in 1983 . The present
price estimates is around 600 billion That’s why in 2005 ,pesticides worth Rs 27 billion were
used in India Biopesticides are likely have a greater impact on the insecticide sector .

Some analyst believe that Biopesticides will account for 15 % of the total insecticide market by
2010 . There is a growing demand for organically cultivated fresh and process fruits and
vegetables . The current consumption of organically produced fruits and vegetables at the global
level is valued at Rs 27 billion .

The APEDA ( Agricultural Produces Export Development Agency ) of the Union Commerce
Ministry had proposed to export organic food at a value of Rs 1500 billion annually during
eleventh five year plan This would require enormous efforts to produce and use Biopesticides in

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the context of Integrated Pest Management . The growth rate of Biopesticides for the next ten
years has been forecast at 10% to 15 % in contrast to 2.5 % for chemical pesticides.

Factors affecting growth of biopesticides

However, some of the factors which have restricted the growth of biopesticides are:

· Low reliability because of low stability in effect

· Target specificity which distracts farmers
· Slow in action compared to synthetics
· Shorter shelf life
· Erratic availability of biopesticides in the market
· Already established and strong market of chemical pesticides
· Regulatory system favorable to chemical pesticides, and
· The gradual disappearance of multiple or mixed cropping, which is known to keep away
the magic bullet-chemical pesticide.

Usage of Biopesticides

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The global weighted average consumption level of biopesticides is approximately 1 kg/ha. With
the global organic farming area comprising about 24 million hectares, global biopesticide
consumption is thus estimated at about 24 million kg.

Health effects
Safety issues Environmental
impacts

Waste Lower
Reduction hazardous
substances

sustainable
processes

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Consumption of biopesticides:-

Correspondingly, consumption of biopesticides has increased from 123 metric tons (tech. grade)
in 1994-95 to 683 metric tons in 2000-01, and almost 85 percent of the biopesticides used are
neem based products. Recent statistics indicate that the consumption of biopesticide in India has
increased to 1920 MT during 2005-06 (1717 MT need based and 203 MT Bt-based). It is worth
mentioning here that, during 1994-95 biopesticide accounted for only 0.2 percent of the overall
pesticide use in the country which has increased to about 5 percent by 2005-06, recording a
CAGR of almost 38 percent in the share of overall pesticide use during the period.

The growth of total world production of biopesticides is rising and therefore demand and use is
also increasing. In India, biopesticide consumption has shown its increased use over the time
(Figure 1). In 2005-06, consumption of biopesticides in India stands at 1920 MT

Source: Kalra & Khanuja 2007

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Industry Overview
The Biopesticide market is growing very rapidly. In 2005, biopesticides accounted for about
2.5% of the total pesticide market, which was merely 0.2% during 2000. This share is expected
to grow to about 4.2% by 2010 while the market value is estimated to reach more than US$ 1
billion (Source: BCC research). However, the overall growth rate of biopesticides is estimated to
be about 10% per annum for the next 5 years.
In terms of use, orchards claim the largest share (55%) of the total biopesticides used. Region
wise, North America consumes the largest share (40%) of the global biopesticide production
followed by Europe and Oceanic countries accounting for 20% each.

Figure 1: Trend of global pesticide vis-à-vis biopesticide market

Source: Business Communication Company Inc.

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R &D status of biopesticides
The biopesticide R&D status presented here is based on two parameters; publications and
patents. This status is based on the information available in the Scopus database which was
searched with the keyword ‘biopesticide’ for the time period up to 2007.
Total Indian publication on biopesticide stands at 443 papers which accounts for 13.23% of the
3,348 global papers in the field. The share of India in biopesticide related patents is only 3.55%
of the global holdings.

Fig 2: Trend of bio-pesticide research outputs

Source: Scopus; keyword-biopesticide

Research publications in biopesticides from India, as well as the world, are increasing but the
degree of increase is very high in case of global publications. The average annual growth rate of
global publications during the specified period is 51.1% while that of India is 37.4%. In terms of
patenting, Indian condition appears to be very poor whereas in the case of global patents it is
showing a slight increase over the years. India has so far secured only 19 patents in biopesticides.

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Table: Annual availability of biopesticides in India

Biopesticides/Bioagents Quantity/annum (approx)

Neem 300 PPM 1,000,000 L
Neem 1500 PPM 250,000 L
Bt 50,000 kg
NPV (liquid) 500,000 Le
Beauveria Meager
Pheromone traps 500,000 nos.
Lures 2 million
Trichogramma 1 million
Chrysoperla & other
Meager
biocontrol insects
Trichoderma 500 T

Public support system

The Indian government is promoting research, production, registration and adoption of
biopesticides with open hands, through various rules, regulations, policies and schemes. The
Department of Biotechnology (DBT) spearheads the promotion of biopesticides, especially
research funding and production.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has 31 bio-control production facilities
while DBT supports another 22. The National Agriculture Technology Project (NATP) led IPM
project during 1998 to 2005 also enhanced the use of biopesticides. States like Tamil Nadu and
Andhra Pradesh already have 200 laboratories producing biopesticides.

The National Centre for Integrated Pest Management (NCIPM) looks after plant protection needs
in various agro-climatic zones of the country. Besides, it oversees the setting up and running of
State Bio-control Labs (SBCLs). There are around 38 such SBCLs across the country, which are
engaged in production and distribution of natural predators and parasites to farmers.
The Insecticide Act of 1968 has been amended accordingly to simplify the process of registration
to allow speedier development and production of biopesticides.

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The National Farmer Policy 2007 has strongly recommended the promotion of biopesticides for
increasing agricultural production, sustaining the health of farmers and environment. It also
includes the clause that biopesticides would be treated at par with chemical pesticides in terms of
support and promotion.

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Opportunities

· As reported, India’s total pesticide consumption stands at 1,00,000 ton. The area under
organic cultivation (crops) in India is estimated to be around 1,00,000 hectare. Besides,
there are lakhs of hectare of forest area being certified as organic. Further, some states
like Uttaranchal and Sikkim have declared their states as organic. Moreover, the area
under organic crop cultivation is going to increase substantially because of the growing
demand of organic food, a result of increasing health consciousness among the people.
This indicates that there is huge scope for growth of the biopesticide sector in India.
· Analysts believe that due to rising cost of developing new effective molecules and the
non-capability of most Indian companies associated with the pesticide industry to invest
such huge amount, there would be a greater development in the biopesticides sector
(Desai, 1997).
· Due to its rich biodiversity India offers plenty of scope in terms of sources for natural
biological control organisms as well as natural plant based pesticides.
· The rich traditional knowledge base available with the highly diverse indigenous
communities in India may provide valuable clues for developing newer and effective
biopesticide.
· There exist opportunities for identification of novel sources of biopesticides; for instance,
exploration and utilization of nanosilica as a potential agent of biopesticide.
· The supply chain management needs to be strengthened in order to increase the usage of
biopesticides. In this regard, an efficient delivery system from the place of production
(factory) to place of utilization (farm) of biopesticides is quite essential.
· Contribution to less synthetic chemistry
· Resistance management
· Improved worker safety
· Low environmental impact
· Exportation advantages, ISO, CODEX
· Replacement of FQPA or deregulated products

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 Growth of Biopesticides

+20% Compounded Annual Growth

1. Availability of Biopesticides About 680 products of different microbials are currently available
worldwide In India about 16 commercial preparations of Bt ( Bacillus thuringiensis) , 38 fungal
formulations based on Trichoderma,Metarhizium,Beauveria and about 45 baculovirus-based
formulations of Helicoverpa and spodoptera are available Microbial biopesticide are likely to
replace at least 20 % of chemical pesticides Source –DBT ,Delhi

Rising Use

The use of biopesticide is increasing while the use of its chemical counterpart is decreasing. This
is really an encouraging piece of information everyone would like to be associated with. Though,
chemical pesticides still dominate the overall pesticide usage in India, a simple trend line based
projection indicates that by 2020 biopesticide will account for about 37 percent of the pesticide
consumption in India

Future needs for making biopesticides and IPM popular

A number of microbial and botanical biopesticides are available in Indian market and there are
certainly others available elsewhere. However despite programmes that are in progress to
popularize these biopesticides, their widespread use has not been witnessed, and as indicated
earlier, biopesticides and IPM have yet to become popular with the farmers. Following are some
of the solution to make them popular : (i) The quality of the available biopesticides need to be
improved and small companies should invest in quality production. (ii) It is necessary to develop
an industry to develop awareness among the farmers, about the benefits of biopesticides.

(iii) Government needs to give low interest loans for biopesticides at least in the initial phase, so
that the farmers do not shy away due to prohibitive cost and they use them to recognize the long
term benefits. (iv)Research and development in the area of biopesticides other than Bt and neem
based biopesticides, also need to be strengthened and this need to be funded by the government.
(v) More research is needed on ‘lab to field transfers’, because some biopesticides do well in
the laboratory, but not in the field. (vi) There is a need for a check on negative role of strong
chemical pesticide industry, which is preventing the promotion of biopesticides to protect their

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own interest. Even the government machinery sometimes plays in the hands of pesticide
industry. (vii) Registration of biopesticides formulations is itself quite cumbersome and
expensive; it needs to be made simpler and cost effective.

Reference:-

1. Source –DBT ,Delhi

2. www.EDocFind.com
3. (http:// dacnet.nic.in/ppin ipmpest_ main.html).
4. Business Communication Company Inc.
5. Agricoop
6. www.EDocFind.com
7. http://www.nistads.res.in/indiasnt2008/t6rural/t6rur17.htm
8. dbtindia.nic.in/index.asp, Source –DBT ,Delhi
9. http://www.afcindia.org.in/june_2010/24-28.pdf
10. http://www.studentsguide.in/industrial-microbial-biotechnology/biopesticides-integrated-pest-
management/present-status-and-future-needs-for-making-biopesticides-and-ipm-popular.html
11. www.wikipedia.org

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