With the WTO's patent regime coming into force, several multinationals are keen to put their research and development centres in India Syngenta, an agribusiness major, has already announced plans and a few others are following suit making good use of Indian scientific talent.

The $74 mn turnover, PI Industries, one of the few Indian companies to have seized this opportunity earlier on, already has two production units in Rajasthan and Gujarat. They conform to global standards with a major focus on custom manufacturing for outside sources. The company invests approx. $4 bn (Rs. 200 mn) annually on research and development activities. The Crop Care Federation of India, an industry body representing over 90 pesticide companies is also one of the many Indian companies which are working with multinationals to develop their molecules in India.

The estimated approx. $888 mn (Rs. 4000 crore) Indian pesticides industry is currently exporting approx. $555 mn (Rs. 2500 crore) worth of products to about 120 countries including US, Japan and the EU. The industry is bullish about growth prospects given that the coverage of agriculture is only 21 % of the total cropped area in the country. The industry does not see bio-pesticides, currently accounting for less than five % of the global $27 bn pesticides market, making any major dent in revenues.

To realise this potential and promote judicious and proper use of pesticides, the industry has set up an Agrichemical Promotion Group with the objective of undertaking better communication, farmer training with professional help, and identifying areas where the agriculture sector can be helped to boost growth.