Chapter 6 - Perceptive exploitation of pesticides: connecting link between pesticide consumption and agricultural sustainability

Abstract

For Indian economy, the most important sector is agriculture, which contributes 18% of India's gross domestic product and provides employmentto 50% of the countries workforce. Farmers grow different types of agricultural commodities because of different climatic regions. There is need to apply pesticide to reduce pest and diseases. Currently, India is the largest producer of pesticides in Asia and ranks 12th in the world for the use of pesticides. A vast majority of the population in India is engaged in agriculture and is therefore exposed to the pesticides used in agriculture. Although Indian average consumption of pesticide is far lower than many other developed economies, the problem of pesticide residue is very high in India. Therefore, this chapter intends to discuss about the Indian and International scenario of pesticide registration. Also, pesticide production, consumption, and distribution pattern is discussed here. Moving toward the end, this chapter discusses about the challenges and pesticide management and control strategies.