June 18, 2015
CropLife India supports country''s "Grow Safe Food" campaign
Press Release
"We are gaining knowledge on how to use pesticides responsibly and judiciously from the master trainers of CropLife India."
"We also learnt how to protect our health, store chemicals safely and also to differentiate genuine and spurious products while purchasing," said Mr. Palla Vekateshwarlu, a farmer from Edida Village, East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh.
He is one of the hundreds of beneficiaries of CropLife India''s stewardship initiatives promoting sustainable agriculture through responsible use of crop protection products.
"Grow Safe Food" campaign
As a key pillar of its efforts to improve sustainable production of adequate amount of safe food, and augment food and nutritional security for India''s billion-plus population, the Department of Agriculture and Co-cooperation, Government of India, recently launched the "Grow Safe Food" campaign. The nation-wide initiative is aimed at promoting awareness and capability-building efforts such as training for farmers particularly on food safety and quality issues.
Sharing the common goal of sustainability and farmers'' welfare, CropLife India is collaborating in the initiative and is actively involved in providing hands-on training to farmers on GAP (Good Agricultural Practices), IPM (Integrated Pest Management) and Responsible Use of chemicals.
Stewardship initiatives by CropLife India
Through its pilot projects in the districts of East Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, Bharuch in Gujarat and East Champaran in Bihar, CropLife India''s initiatives aim to cover about 6,000 farm families in three states over the next two years. Trainings for farmers include classroom teaching and practical field training sessions for farmers. The training curriculum includes 16 elaborative modules covering a wide range of topics such as IPM, role of beneficial insects including pollinators, judicious and responsible use of chemicals, secure storage of pesticides, impacts of counterfeit and illegal products, use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipments) such as masks and gloves, correct spraying techniques, maintaining sprayers and nozzles, and triple rinsing of used containers.
Further in its outreach initiatives, CropLife India created a short video that explains potential risks and dangers of counterfeit and illegal crop protection products particularly for the farmers. The video is available in 7 languages- Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada- and is used in the trainings across the country.
Apart from trainings, key messages are reinforced through hoardings and banners in the villages whilst other communication means such as posters and leaflets are also used to maximise reach to all the stakeholders.
Agri-input retailers are also actively involved in these activities as they are one of the important sources of information for farmers particularly on pest and disease management. As one of the key activities under the campaign, CropLife India supported the effort to send out advisories to over 200,000 pesticide retailers creating awareness on illegal and counterfeit products.
CropLife India has a long history of creating awareness and building capacity on sustainable practices among various stakeholders including farmers, agri-input retailers, agricultural extension staff and several NGOs. Through these initiatives, CropLife India is demonstrating its sustained commitment to promote stewardship as the key driver for a resilient, sustainable and a profitable food and agribusiness sector in India.
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