While the government is planning to crackdown on the issues relating to high levels of pesticide residues in vegetables being brought from neighbouring States, the Agriculture department is gearing to attain self-sufficiency in pesticide free-vegetable production in the district.
The government has sanctioned Rs. 2.58 crore for the district to cultivate safe-to-eat vegetables on 1,971 hectares of land, including farmers’ own cultivation, by following organic agriculture practices, K. Mohan, Principal Agriculture officer, Wayanad, told The Hindu .
The department is targeting to produce 21,000 tonnes of different species of vegetable this year under various schemes, as against 18,630 tonnes of vegetables during the corresponding period last year, he said.
As many as 1,75,500 vegetable seed kits, each kit consisting of 12 different vegetable seeds, would be disbursed to school students, NGOs and farmers under the ‘Homestead Vegetable cultivation scheme '. The department has earmarked Rs.11.5 lakh and Rs.13 lakh respectively to expand vegetable cultivation on private as well as public institutional lands and in 200 schools.
As many as 50 new commercial vegetable producing farmer societies would be constituted this year and a sum of Rs.48.46 lakh would be disbursed to them to promote pesticide free vegetable cultivation.
A financial aid of Rs.65.9 lakh would be provided to 3 ‘A’ grade societies selected 43 vegetable producing societies in the district. A sum of Rs.4.5 lakh has been allotted to promote growbag vegetable cultivation in urban areas.
A sum of Rs.50 lakh would be utilised to cultivate vegetables on 25 hectares of fallow land and Rs.15 lakh would be provided to empower vegetable producing societies. As many as 18 micro nutrient demonstration plots would be launched at a cost of Rs.3.76 lakh and Rs.22.5 lakh would be utilised to set up 75 micro-irrigation projects in the district.
As many as 80 rain shelter cultivation units would be started this season at a cost of Rs. 40 lakh. The department would organise 150 training programmes to sensitize the farming community on the significance of pesticide-free vegetable cultivation and reduce the application of harmful chemical pesticides, Mr. Mohan said.
Rs. 2.58 crore has been sanctioned for the district to cultivate safe-to-eat vegetables on 1,971 hectares of land.
