Farmer groups flag crop loss risk if 27 popular pesticides banned

The panel was initially given a time of three months for submission of the findings which was later extended due to the pandemic

The T P Rajendran committee, constituted by the Centre to study the vexed issue of banning 27 popular pesticides, has said of the 1,135 responses it received from various stakeholders, around 55 per cent were from the farming community and they expressed concern over 

the possible loss to their crops if the pesticides are withdrawn from the market.

The panel, on whose recommendation the government is believed to have “watered” down its May 2020 draft gazette notification banning popular pesticides, reducing the number of proscribed ones from 27 to three, said farmer groups with which the panel and its members interacted emphasised