Counterfeit agri-inputs: The hidden tax on Indian agriculture

A Hidden Cost For Farmers

Counterfeit agricultural inputs impose what one industry executive describes as an unrecorded tax on Indian farming. Writing in The Hindu BusinessLine, the author, who heads Crystal Crop Protection Ltd, argues that spurious pesticides, adulterated fertilisers and fake seeds are paid for by farmers through lost harvests rather than through any official levy. Drawing on two decades of industry experience, the author notes that such products are frequently hard to distinguish from genuine ones, with farmers often learning of the deception only after crops fail.

Scale Of The Problem

Industry estimates cited in the article suggest that between 25 and 33 per cent of pesticides sold in India are counterfeit, contributing to an estimated annual food loss of 10 million tonnes. The cost to farmers extends beyond the purchase price of the fake product. It includes money already spent on land preparation, seeds and labour, debt taken to finance the season, and yields that should have been protected. The author states that farmer bodies and agricultural researchers have documented cases involving far graver human consequences.

Why It Matters For Business

Counterfeiting persists, according to the article, because fake products avoid research and development and regulatory compliance costs, allowing them to undercut genuine goods substantially. Combined with inconsistent enforcement, this makes counterfeiting a profitable and low-risk activity. The author frames the issue as a governance challenge rather than merely a supply-chain one, warning that it erodes trust in agriculture and threatens national food security. A counterfeit product sold under a familiar-sounding name, the article notes, damages confidence not only in that product but in every legitimate product sharing the same shelf. This matters for India's stated goals of doubling farm incomes and expanding agricultural exports, since neither can be achieved if a significant share of inputs …