Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, chaired a high-level meeting at Krishi Bhawan, issuing strong directives to crack down on misleading and fake biostimulant products being sold to farmers.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), where the Minister emphasized that the government will not allow the exploitation of farmers by unscrupulous elements in the agricultural input market.
Taking serious note of complaints received during his recent 15-day Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan, a field outreach across multiple states, Chouhan said he was alarmed by the number of grievances raised by farmers regarding fake fertilizers, seeds, biostimulants, and nano urea. “I heard farmers directly, and I cannot ignore their pain. As the Agriculture Minister, it is my duty to act,” he stated.
Questioning the continued approval of ineffective biostimulant products, Chouhan asked officials why thousands of such products remained in the market despite repeated renewals and ongoing field-level complaints. “If these are not truly helping farmers, why are they still being sold? This must stop,” he asserted, adding that future approvals will strictly be based on scientific validation rather than commercial interests.
Minister revealed that nearly 30,000 biostimulant products had flooded the market over the years without sufficient regulatory checks, and even in the past four years, around 8,000 such products were still in circulation. “After enforcing stricter norms, we have reduced the number to approximately 650. But we will not tolerate any further negligence,” he said.
Chouhan demanded comprehensive data on registration, verification, market regulation, testing protocols, and legal provisions to crack down on unverified or substandard products. He instructed ICAR to initiate thorough scientific evaluations of all biostimulants to uphold farmers’ trust.
He made it clear that only biostimulants proven through scientific assessment would be approved moving forward. He also directed that standard operating procedures (SOPs) and clear guidelines be established, warning that no irregularities will be tolerated.
Concluding the meeting, Chouhan urged officials and scientists to prioritize farmers’ welfare, stating, “India’s farmers trust us, and we must act with their needs in mind.”
