Economic Potential of Biological Substitutes for Agrochemicals

Pesticides, together with the high yielding seeds, fertilizers and irrigation, have made substantial contributions towards making India food selfsufficient. But in recent years, they have come under severe criticism because of their negative externalities to the environment and human health. Besides, the pest-induced losses have been increasing, despite increasing use of pesticides. Biological alternatives to pesticides have been proposed since long, and are claimed to provide effective solutions to the pest problem. Their use, however, has remained extremely low due to a number of technological, socio-economic and institutional constraints. Nevertheless, with rising public awareness of the negative externalities of the chemical pesticides, coupled with the increasing demand for chemical-free food, the biological pest management is going to occupy an important place in the future plant protection strategies. This study makes an important contribution towards understanding the economics of biological pest management visà- vis chemical pest management under the experimental as well as the field conditions, and the problems/constraints in the adoption of biological pest management technologies by the farmers, besides providing a critical review of the plant protection policy. The general conclusion is that the biological pest management technologies have the potential to substitute the chemical pesticides without demanding additional resources, and with no adverse effect on agricultural productivity, given the adequate technological, economic and institutional support. The study has been vetted by the peers, and it is expected that the results will guide the researchers, extension workers and policymakers in taking appropriate steps to accelerate the adoption of biological pest management technologies.