Organic farming policy next month

NEW DEAL: Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran launching the sale of organic manure from the Vilappilsala garbage treatment plant in Thiruvananthapuram by handing over the first bag to A. Ashokan, Chairman and Managing Director, FACT, in the State capital on Tuesday. Photo: S. Gopa Kumar.

The State government's organic farming policy aimed at making farming sustainable, rewarding and competitive and ensuring poison-free food and water to the citizens will be unveiled in Kozhikode next month, Minister for Agriculture Mullakkara Ratnakaran has said.

Speaking after handing over the organic manure produced at the Vilappilsala garbage plant of the city Corporation to FACT Chairman and Managing Director A. Ashokan on the Corporation office premises here on Tuesday, the Minister said the second package of practices to be announced by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan on May 9 in Kozhikode would spell out details on the quantity of pesticides to be used. The Minister said no certificate was now required from the agriculture officer for the use of pesticides and the quantity of pesticides that could be applied. The policy of the government was to encourage farmers to use organic manure for farming although there would be a small dip in the productivity.

Mr. Ratnakaran said FACT should take the initiative to procure all the organic manure produced in the State by various agencies, ensure its quality and market it under one brand name. A policy decision would be needed, as the Centre gave subsidy for the fertilizers directly to the companies. In the case of organic manure, he said it would not work out and the Centre would have to give subsidy to the State government.

The agreement for the sale of organic manure between FACT and the Corporation was exchanged between Mr. Ashokan and Additional Secretary of the Corporation Radhakrishna Kurup.

Earlier, inaugurating the function, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs M. Vijayakumar said the main task of the Corporation was to ensure a clean city. The civic body had a greater role to perform with the decentralisation of power and would have to rise up to the aspirations of people.

In his presidential address, Mayor C. Jayan Babu said segregation of waste at the household was needed for the successful running of the garbage plant at Vilappilsala and for ensuring the quality of organic manure.

The corporation would be forced to taken only the segregated waste from the households.