MULTAN, June 6: The federal agriculture ministry is likely to announce soon the expansion of the list (form-16) meant to import pesticides under generic names but some widely-used chemistries are reportedly being left out to safeguard interests of a couple of influential firms.

Sources in the ministry told Dawn that a notification to allow the import of more and more pesticides under generic names was in the offing in a bid to ensure sufficient availability of pesticides required to combat cotton pests.

It may be added here that last year the cotton growers had to face an unprecedented high pressure of the economically injurious Spotted, American and Army bollworms at the crucial stage of boll formation.

Their problems had compounded with the shortage of most effective and widely-used pesticides, which were needed to wipe out the bollworms playing havoc with prospects of a bumper cotton crop.

To add insult to the injury, some unscrupulous elements exploited the situation and marketed substandard, adulterated and fake pesticides. At this, the growers' organizations had started demanding an end to the monopolistic control of some of the multinational and local firms over the supply of some sought-after chemistries by placing them in the category (form-16).

Some of the growers' representatives had also stressed that the products whose patent right had been expired all over the world should automatically be on the form-16 from the limited import category of pesticides under brand names (form-1).

Currently, the federal agriculture secretary enjoys discretionary powers to decide about the expansion of the product line to be placed on the form-16. Demanding abolition of the discretionary powers, growers allege that the current practice gives birth to misuse of authority and corruption.

They say that quality of the products available on the form-16 can be ensured by binding the importers to import them under the same recipe which is registered for the form-1 and market the products under trade names.

Sources in the agriculture ministry said that though the authorities had decided to pay heed to the growers' demands regarding expansion of the form-16 to ensure availability of the pesticides throughout the cotton season, but some important products were not included in the proposed list of the products being placed under the category of free-for-all import.Following products are reportedly on the list proposed to expand form-16:

Abemectin (1.85% EC), Acetamiprid (20 % SL, 20 % SP), Chlorfenapyr (360 SC), Diflubenzuron (25 % WP), Flufenoxuron (10 EC), Isocarbofos (40 EC), Lufenuron (50 EC), Pyridaben (15 % EC), Spinosad (240 SC, 50 WDG), Zeta-Cypermathrin (18.1 EC), Imidacloprid (70 5 WS) and Thiodicarb (75 WP, 80 WP).

A popular product, Emamectan is missing from the proposed expansion list despite the fact that its global patent expired long ago. Emamectan currently is a monopoly product of a multinational firm and a local importer.

Sources said that advance booking of the product for the cotton season 2004-05 from the quota of the local importer had mostly been brokered by a distribution company based at a remote village Choti Zarin, the headquarter of the influential Leghari clan of Dera Ghazi Khan district.

The local importer had secured selling rights of the product last year and later on in an unprecedented move federal agriculture minister Yar Muhammad Rind had unilaterally ordered that importer of a product registered under form-1 would enjoy its sole selling rights in the country for a period of two years.

The product Emamectan is said to be available in rest of the world under the generic name. The minister had issued the novel order while presiding over a meeting of the sub-committee of the agricultural pesticides technical advisory committee (Aptac).

It may be pertinent to mention here that Aptac is, by rules, presided over by the federal agriculture secretary while its sub-committee by the director general of the department of plant protection.