A project worth Rs 50 lakh has been sanctioned to make available pesticide-free, ‘safe to eat’ branded vegetables and fruits based on participatory cultivation by farmers at Kalliyoor, Venganoor and Perumbazhuthur panchayaths in the district, said Jyothi Lal, secretary, Agriculture and Vice-Chancellor of the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). “Research should be oriented towards the production of safe to eat food which ensures healthy life for human beings,” he suggested while delivering the inaugural address in the Zonal Research Extension Advisory Council (ZREAC) workshop and interface organised by the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS-southern zone) in association with the Department of Agriculture. Dr P Sivaprasad, Associate Director of RARS welcomed the dignitaries and presented the project report.
Dr T R Gopalakrishnan, Director of Research, KAU delivered the presidential address while Dr S Edison, former director of the Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), in his keynote address, stressed the importance of value-added products from agricultural crops which help to fetch more price to farmers.
K Viswanathan, director of Mithraniketan released the registration certificate obtained from the Central Insecticides Board for the biofungicide Pseudomonas developed by the KAU.