7 Challenges Of Biostimulants Industry

The Indian biostimulants market is growing slower than expected, due to various challenges and a lack of friendly and enabling conditions. Despite the government's efforts to legalise biostimulants, there are gaps. These considerations would make the promising technology more industry-friendly and enable regulatory conditions to promote the sector in increasing agricultural production and doubling farmer income.

- PK CHAKRABARTY

Biostimulant technology is promising and expected to grow from $266.58 million in 2022 to $734.13 million in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.57 per cent according to a report by Fortune Business Insights. Biostimulants were unregulated in India until recently. However, in the name of biostimulants/biologicals, several cases of spurious products laced with cocktails of chemical pesticides and substances unmindful of their biosafety to humans and bioefficacy became common.

The recent seizure of 250 fake biologicals in Karnataka is evidence of these illegal practices, as most samples contained pesticides, some of which were unregistered, according to tests. To prevent such illicit and deceptive practices, the Government of India has introduced regulatory requirements to monitor the quality of biostimulant products, taking into account the current situation of unregulated biostimulants.

The new regulatory and supervisory framework will increase market participants' confidence in the industry and encourage investment in research and development. This, in turn, will lead to the development and commercialisation of new products that can benefit farmers with access to high-quality products. Top manufacturers welcome the government's effort to protect their brand names and values from unhealthy competition, deceptive practices and unsafe use of biostimulants and biologicals.