Prof. Poonam Parihar
Green Entrepreneurship encompasses the development by new start-ups of green products, services & processes. The evolution of Indian agriculture post the “Green Revolution” has witnessed remarkable changes leading to self-sufficiency in food production. However, the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has adversely impacted soil and environmental health. This has prompted a shift towards exploring biological alternatives such as biopesticides and biofertilizers to address concerns about sustainability and the need for pesticide-free produce. Thus, green entrepreneurship can contribute to sustainable development by focusing on the preservation of natural conditions or natural resources such as biopesticides, biofertilizers, wastewater treatment, renewable energy and biodiversity. The demand for eco-friendly fertilizers and pesticides is rising, particularly with the increasing adoption of organic cultivation practices. The status of biopesticides in India reveals a growing market, yet it constitutes a small percentage of the overall pesticide market. Factors such as insecticide resistance and environmental concerns with synthetic pesticides emphasize the need for eco-friendly alternatives. Although the consumption of biopesticides is on the rise, it has not reached the anticipated level, presenting challenges at both industrial and policy levels. The biopesticide market is expected to witness significant growth, constituting a larger share of the pesticide market. Similarly, the introduction of biofertilizers in India has shown promising results, especially in improving soil fertility and crop yields. Green Entrepreneurs can have a key role to play both in developing these innovations & bringing them to market. In general entrepreneurship is widely recognised as boosting economic activity & stimulating job creation (OECD,2020{17}. Increasingly, entrepreneurship is also being recognised as a means of addressing societal challenges including environmental sustainability.
Green entrepreneurship can contribute to profound socio-economic upheaval and sustainable development, especially in emerging economies. This is due to, on one hand, the adaptation and application of green practices, which means efficient allocation and management of locally available resources and therefore cost-effective. On the other hand, the market for green products is at domestic and international level and offers tremendous growth prospects for both producers and exporters, thereby, can further facilitate the uptake of green practices in agriculture. Beside economic gains frame that green entrepreneurial farming improves soil fertility, biodiversity, conserves natural resources, and ultimately aid sustainable development (Sher et al., 2019).Green entrepreneurship represents a vision of rural communities managing their resources to jointly achieve three goals:
a) Enhance rural livelihoods
b) Conserve or enhance biodiversity and eco-system services
c) Develop more sustainable and productive agricultural system
The core of green entrepreneurship is ensuring that business is consistent with the natural functions of ecosystems and farmers will also no longer depend on costly chemicals and artificial pest control.
Different Types of Eco-Friendly Pesticides
- Microbial: Microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoans, or nematodes) are the main component of microbial pesticides. Although each individual active ingredient in microbial pesticides is quite specialized for its intended pest(s), they can control a wide variety of pests. These biopesticide classes have been effective in reducing weeds, plant diseases, and insect pests. Microbial biopesticides can be applied to crops in a variety of ways, including as live organisms, dead organisms, and spores.
- Biochemical: Biochemical pesticides are organic compounds that use non?toxic methods to control pests. These are employed to modify an insect’s physiology, behavior, and even control. Biopesticides include compounds such as plant growth regulators that prevent breeding and population expansion, as well as compounds such as pheromones that either repel or attract pests.
- Plant-incorporated protectants (PIPs): PIPs are biopesticide compounds that are made by plants from genetic material that has been incorporated into the plant.
Different Types of Eco-Friendly Fertilizers - Bio compost: It is a kind of organic fertilizer, which is prepared from the waste of the sugar industry.The waste is decomposed using a number of human and plants friendly bacteria and Fungi. Bio compostconsists of nitrogen, phosphate solubilizing bacteria and plenty of useful fungi like the decomposingfungi. This biofertilizer helps the farmers to increase soil fertility and thereby increase the yield of thecrops.
- Vermi Compost: It is also an organic fertilizer containing nitrogen phosphorus, potassium, sulphur,organic carbon, sulphur, hormones, enzymes, etc. If used over a period of time, the soil becomesextremely fertile and all the lost nutrients are restored back to the turf and the soil remains fertile.
- Phospho: This is also a kind of bio-fertilizer, which releases insoluble phosphorous in the soil, makingit more fertile. It helps the plants to absorb nutrients & improve soil structure.
- Rhizo N: It fixes the atmospheric nitrogen & makes it available to crop. It increases number & length of roots & shoots. It also improves the fertility of soil & reduces the use of chemical fertilizers (UREA). It helps in fixing the nodules on the roots of vegetables like peas,beans, etc., thereby, playing an important role in agriculture.
- Azotobactor: Nitrogen plays an extremely important role in plant growth. Azotobactor improves thequantity of atmospheric nitrogen in the soil and makes it available to the plants. It also shields the rootsfrom other pathogens existing in the soil.
- Trichoderma: It is an eco-friendly fertilizer, which acts as a biocontrol agent and is hyper parasiticagainst different pathogens in the field.
- Composter: A composter breaks down all organic substances like cattle waste, dead leaves, etc. presentin the soil and thereby increases the productivity of the soil.
- Tricho-Card: It is an effective bio-fertilizer, which is an effective destroyer of eggs of many rodents,which eat plants and leaves. It is effective when used for many plants namely sugarcane, cotton, brinjal,corn, jawar, paddy apple, etc (Mishra, 2013)
Local production ofecofriendly fertilizers and pesticides
There is a large market potential for biofertilizer and biopesticide products that can only be tapped through a better understanding of rural markets and product/marketing constraints. To achieve these objectives, an extensive research and development effort in areas pertaining to production, quality assurance, field application, and knowledge transmission of biocontrol products is of great importance:
1) Neem leaves pesticide: Neem is a plant with the scientific name Azadirachta indica. For those who are not familiar with it, it’s an evergreen tree and can be found in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Neem leaf is well known as organic pesticide. The leaf as well as other parts of the tree is also widely used in medicine and for culinary purposes.Neem pesticide can be used to control caterpillars, grasshoppers, whitefly, and aphids.
2) Papaya leaves pesticide: Papaya leaves contain an active ingredient called “Papain”, that is known to effectively control caterpillars and sucking pets. The papaya leaves pesticide can control termites, aphids, caterpillars and various insects.
3) Cow urine pesticide: Old cow urine diluted with water in ratio of 1:20 and used as foliar spray is not only effective in the management of pests, but also acts as effective growth promoter for the crop.
4) vermicompost as biofertilizer: Vermicompost is the product of composting using various worms to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast.
In India, there are several examples of successful biopesticide applications: Bacillus thuringiensis for controlling diamondback moths; Beauveria for controlling mango hoppers, mealy bugs, and coffee pod borers; Bacillus thuringiensis for controlling Helicoverpaarmigera on cotton, pigeon pea, and tomato; neem products for controlling whiteflies on cotton; Trichogramma for controlling sugarcane borers; and Trichoderma-based products for controlling rots and wilts in a variety of crops.
Green entrepreneurs are driven by the goal toprotect the environment and achieve sustainable development by promoting ecofriendly strategies. The excessive use of chemical inputs has led to soil and environmental degradation, prompting a shift towards biopesticides and biofertilizers. Despite challenges, the growing market for these eco-friendly alternatives signals a positive trend.
Entrepreneurship in local production holds promise, aligned with goals of enhancing rural livelihoods and fostering sustainable agriculture. Agricultural extension plays a vital role in this transition, promoting awareness and reducing chemical reliance.
In essence, the move towards eco-friendly solutions represents a transformative journey for Indian agriculture, promoting resilience and environmental consciousness.
