Agriculture Ministry withdraws approval for 11 animal-based crop biostimulants on religious grounds

The biostimulants will remain suspended until proper pre-harvest interval data is generated, when the products are used as foliar spray, he said.

New Delhi: The Agriculture Ministry has withdrawn approval granted for 11 biostimulants derived from animal sources after Hindu and Jain communities raised ethical and religious concerns.

The products, made from animal-based protein hydrolysate, were previously cleared for use on crops, including paddy, chilli, tomato, cotton, cucumber, soybean, grapes and green gram, based on approval from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The animal sources they rely on include bovine hide, hair and tanned skin, chicken feathers, pig tissue, skin, bones and scales of cod, and a variety of sardine.

"These 11 biostimulants were approved earlier and were selling in the market. They are now withheld due to ethical, religious, and dietary concerns raised by different communities," said an official in the Ministry of Agriculture.

Insisting that the ICAR gave an approval purely based on technical clearance in terms of high yields, the official said that the biostimulants will remain suspended until proper pre-harvest interval data is generated, when the products are used as foliar spray.

Before 2021, biostimulants were sold freely in India with no specific rules governing their sale. In 2021, the Government brought them under the FCO (Fertilizer Control Order (FCO), which meant companies had to register products, effectiveness, and comply with testing protocols, including multi-dose field trials, toxicity and chemical analysis.

Only products approved in Schedule VI of the FCO can be manufactured, imported or marketed legally.

Provisional registrations were phased out by mid-2025, enforcing permanent registration compliance.

Biostimulants are substances, microorganisms, or a combination of both that enhance plant growth, health, and productivity by stimulating natural processes within the plant. This process can lead to higher yields and improved crop quality.

Unlike fertilizers, biostimulants work by enhancing the plant's own functions, not by directly providing nutrients. Unlike pesticides, it does not control pests.

Recently, Union Minister for Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chauhan, expressed concerns regarding the unregulated sale of ‘fake’ and ‘spurious’ bio-stimulants to farmers across the country.