During 2014–2017, the India Patent Office received 5,448 patent applications from the agriculture sector, the majority of which were filed in the agrochemicals segment (biocides, pesticides, herbicides, pest repellents), according to a recent study conducted by Einfolge, a Patent and Market Research Organisation.
The study revealed that compared to developed countries like the USA, the number of patent filings in the agriculture sector is much less however the Indian agriculture sector is witnessing a gradual increase in patent activities.
According to the study, the agrochemicals sector leads the pack with 2880 patent applications, followed by animal husbandry (775 applications); tissue culture technique (488 applications); horticulture and forestry (404 applications), harvesting and mowing (213 applications); planting, sowing and fertilizing (194 applications), soil machinery (159 applications), threshing and storing (93 applications).
The study further said despite the ongoing White Revolution, the dairy products segment received only 48 applications in the last three years.
Innovation is the key to the advancement of any field of technology and it holds true for the agriculture sector also. The eco-system talks only about farmer loan waiver schemes and agricultural product players have focussed on biocides, pesticides, and so on. But nobody has thought about permanent solutions which can be fulfilled by innovations, which is in terms of agricultural machinery tools and techniques (planting, harvesting, threshing, and storing techniques). There is a dire need for innovation in the field of agriculture, said Ruhan Swain Rajput, Director, Einfolge.
India’s GCI ranking of 40 can be significantly improved with a growth path focused on innovation. A recent report by PwC examined India’s potential growth through innovation under three scenarios- investment in human capital, physical infrastructure, and in innovation. It concluded that the maximum gain can be derived from investments in innovation.
Even as India has made the large strides in increasing food security, the sector remains constrained by low productivity, excessive dependence on monsoon and weather conditions, continuing fragmentation of land, and the preponderance of fragmented markets. However, the government has engaged in fresh thinking on the development of the agriculture sector, but India is still lagging behind in terms of innovations and protecting indigenous technologies through the Patent process.
As per estimates by the central statistics office, the share of agricultural products/agriculture and allied sectors in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which was 51.9 percent in 1950–51, has come down to 13.7 percent in recent years. However, this is mainly due to the farmers’ inability to generate income from their crops and curb their growing debt.
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