Kerala Agriculture University insists Tamil Nadu vegetables are ‘toxic’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Agriculture University scientists, including its Vice-Chancellor Dr. P. Rajendran, have refuted  the claims made by  Tamil Nadu Agriculture University VC  Dr. K. Ramaswamy that Tamil Nadu was not sending  pesticide-ridden vegetables to Kerala. 

They said  that the Pesticide Residue Research & Analytical Laboratory (PRRAL) at KAU had been taking 4000 periodic samples of fruits, vegetables, masalas and spices, but that its Tamil Nadu counterpart had been doing only a random survey.

The pesticide use in Tamil Nadu’s vegetable farms is four or five times the permissible limit as per the findings of the Kerala Food Safety officials.

But Mr. Ramaswamy  denied it. Currently 60 percent of vegetables in Kerala comes  from Tamil Nadu. Dr. Rajendran, who was the first agriculture scientist to come out with a publication on pesticide residue lab way back in 1988,  says that Tamil Nadu farmers  are keen to make the maximum production and earn the  maximum profit.

“The farmers there take land on lease for huge amounts of money. They are not bothered about the health  of the Malayalis,”  said Dr. Rajendran. He added that probably the Tamil Nadu VC was misinformed.   The PRRAL’s studies are  accurate and each sample being tested at a rate between Rs 5,000 and Rs 8,000 is corroborated thrice.  

He adds that once the farm products from across the border are rejected at the check posts, there would be good impact on the health  of Keralites.