Horticorp, SHM-K join hands to promote pesticide-free vegetables

The Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation (Horticorp) and the State Horticulture Mission-Kerala (SHM-K) are gearing up to promote the production and sale of safe-to-eat vegetables as a premium brand across Kerala.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Horticorp chairman Lal Varghese Kalpakavadi and managing director K. Prathapan, who is also SHM-K director, said a pilot project involving farmers at Pallichal, Kalliyoor, and Venganoor in Thiruvananthapuram was designed to address pesticide contamination of vegetables and ensure food safety. The project taken up by the Department of Agriculture, Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK), Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), Horticorp, and SHM-K would be scaled up and replicated throughout the State.

Dr. Prathapan said the farmers involved in the project were being encouraged to shun the indiscriminate application of chemical pesticides and adopt biocontrol methods. Horticorp was unable to meet the demand for the vegetables produced under the project, despite the premium price.

The safe-to-eat vegetable programme was launched after the Pesticide Residue Research and Analytical Laboratory at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, detected abnormal levels of organophosphorous pesticide in most vegetables sold through markets in the district.

Action plan

Mr. Joseph said Horticorp and the SHM-K were working on an action plan to ensure that Kerala became self-reliant in cool season vegetables and local varieties during the Onam festival season next year.

The plan, he said, was aimed at ramping up domestic production and having a streamlined procurement system in place.

Procurement

“We hope to procure 16,000 tonnes of vegetables this festival season, up from 5,300 tonnes last year. Of the 160 tonnes currently handled by Horticorp daily this season, 60 per cent has been procured from farmers in Kerala, largely from Idukki, Palakkad, and Wayanad districts and through farmers’ collectives.”

Mr. Joseph said the network of 250 retail outlets of Horticorp, 24 mobile stalls, Niravu fairs, and 30 festival fairs opened by Supplyco were selling vegetables at 30 per cent discount. Efforts were on to double the sale of vegetables from 150 to 300 tonnes a day, he added.

Dr. Prathapan said the increased domestic procurement was made possible by eliminating middlemen who fleeced farmers and dictated prices in the open market. “Our market intervention ensured adequate supply of vegetables and succeeded in lowering the price of 27 items. When the price of onion went up to Rs.90 per kg, Horticorp started procurement from Nasik and sold it at Rs.38, helping to lower the price in the open market.”

Horticorp has established a regional procurement centre at the agricultural wholesale market, Anayara, as part of its effort to streamline procurement. The facility set up at a cost of Rs.2.25 crore was inaugurated by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The centre is equipped with ripening chambers and packing sheds, Dr. Prathapan said.

Source: The Hindu, September 4, 2013.