Kerala will push organic farming in a big way: Agriculture Minister
The Kerala Agriculture Minister announced a major push for organic farming following the detection of pesticide residues in food samples. The government is launching the 'Kathir' initiative in schools to encourage students to adopt organic farming practices.
Why it matters
This initiative highlights growing public health concerns regarding food safety and the government's attempt to institutionalize sustainable agricultural practices at the grassroots level.
Kerala was going to push organic farming in a big way as excessive pesticide residues were found in 58 out of the 1,262 food items which were tested in the government labs across the State, including the ones at Vellayani College of Agriculture and Mannuthy Agricultural University, Agriculture Minister T. Siddique, said.
Talking to reporters here on Monday, Mr. Siddique said that the fact that people were taking back toxins-laded vegetables home has firmed the government’s resolve that Kerala has to go back to organic farming and that every homestead had to turn their own homes into small farming units.
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