Agriculture Industry, which is the backbone of our economy, is facing multiple threats from the growth of fake pesticides. According to a latest study, the fake pesticides industry in India was estimated at billions of US dollars globally, which accounts for 25 percent by value and 30 percent by volume of the domestic pesticides industry.
The Study indicates that this market is expected to grow at the rate of 20 percent per annum in terms of value, and if not addressed, can reach to approximately 40 percent share by value in the pesticides industry by the end of 2019.
Counterfeit pesticides pose increased risks to consumers through unknown and untested residues. Unlike legal, registered products, spurious pesticides could contain unknown toxic impurities and have not been tested for human health impact. Residues of unknown and untested substances could get carried into harvested food and compromise consumer health, whilst also posing health threats to farmers through exposure during application. A number of people have died after they consumed contaminated food containing monocrotphos pesticides.
The Contribution of agriculture sector in the GDP is already declining. This trend is worrying and will create a natural stretch on the agriculture sector in the future.
Counterfeit products can harm consumers, damage brand reputation, and lead to lost revenue. The conference creating awareness among the consumers and to present the view point of the industry was organized by Authentication Solutions Providers' Association during The Authentication Forum 2019 - 3rd leadership summit on Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection, the session II devoted to Counterfeiting Analysis: What Global Brands are doing to Combat Counterfeiting Shri Raju Kapoor, Director- Industry & Public Affairs, FMC-an Agricultural Science Company, Shri Ashraf Ali, Anti-counterfeit Manager, Bauyer CropScience Limited, Shri Ajey Shrikant Shiledar , Chief Marketing Officer, Jindal Stainless (JSL), presented their views in the presence of Shri Nakul Pasricha, President, ASPA, who moderated the whole session.
Sproxil, the company protecting the Brands Globally has shown a Mobile Application to check the counterfeit. Agriculture World interacted with Mr. Rohit Sinha, Regional Sales Manager (India) about the mobile app for the benefit of farmers and dealers engaged in the use & sales of pesticides etc.
Sproxil Defender, a point of sale product verification solution, empowers consumers to use their own mobile phone to instantly identify genuine products in the marketplace and grow the trust they have in their favorite brands.
To verify if a product is genuine, a consumer at the point of sale scratches or peels of a tamper-evident layer to reveal the unique code. The consumer sends the unique code to Sproxil using one of several options: an easy text message, Sproxil `s versatile mobile apps, the Sproxil.com website or Sproxil`s local call center service.
A verification response is immediately sent to the consumer, empowering the consumer to purchase with confidence or alert Sproxil if a suspicious product has been located. The verification transaction is also logged in Sproxil`s online portal, allowing brands to monitor genuine purchases and lag suspicious activity patterns in real time.
