Registration Committee recommends banning use of TB drug on crops

The Registration Committee (RC) under the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC) recommended that use of antibiotics streptomycin and tetracycline be completely banned with immediate effect on crops where other options were available for bacterial disease control.

The decision was made at the 414th meeting of the RC held on 1 May 2020. The report will be shared with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Department of Agriculture Cooperation for necessary action on suggesting alternatives.

The report recommended that streptomycin and tetracycline use be phased by 2022-end for crops for which no alternatives were available. It directed the antibiotics to be used on crops strictly as per the label claim.

It also suggested measures to contain this malpractice and regulate it.

The assessment was carried out in the agricultural farms of Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana. It was found that streptocycline, a 90:10 combination of streptomycin and tetracycline. But it was observed that it is being routinely and indiscriminately used by farmers in high doses in crops.