Pesticide firms control TN veggie farms: Report

Kerala Officials Visit Farms In Nine Districts

An increasing awareness about food contamination caused by use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers has prompted many to stop buying from the market and grow vegetables in their gardens and on terraces. Some have even turned into farmer entrepreneurs.

Those owning lands in the suburbs have ventured into organic farming on a relatively larger scale to meet their own needs and to sell surplus produce to organic stores that have mushroomed across the city.

“When my first child Aushadan was down with amoebia sis in Septermber 2011, food purity became a big issue and got me interested in planting our own vegetables,“ says Sirisha Sumanth, an engineerturned housewife and mother of two in Kilpauk. She also picked up tips from a paediatrician who told her that organic food could help in fighting allergies and eczemas in children.

“It is better to pay more for organic vegetables and live healthier,“ says nutritionist Satyapriya Rammohan appreciating the trend. Pratima Ganeshram, whose family owns brick kilns, began growing vegetables at her Anna Nagar home but has graduated to organic farming on a modest scale. In Thiruvanmiyur, Kavita Ramakrishnan has developed a water-proof terrace garden.

Rekha Ramu and Latha Suresh are housewives-turn ed organic farmers in Red Hills on the city outskirts.They use only native species of seeds that are more nutritive than the hybrid varieties that require more water and doses of chemical fertilisers.“I am a member of an organic farmers' cooperative, which organises a seed festival every year and also run an organic store in Chetpet,“ she says.

Dhanapalan, a farmer who grows paddy on leased land in Nagapattinam, is leading the shift away from use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers.“We don't need pesticides for short-term Kurivai crop at least,“ he points out. Deadly chemicals including furidan, monochrottophos, acephate and polytrine that can cause cancer, Parkinson's, infertility and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children are widely used in farms in Tamil Nadu that grow vegetables and fruits, according to a Kerala food safety department report.

Food safety joint commissioner K Anil Kumar and two senior officials visited farms in nine districts in Tamil Nadu to prepare the report. Anil Kumar said most of the farms are controlled by pesticide companies.Based on the report submitted to health minister on May 19, the government has initiated a series of corrective steps.

The report says pesticides that passed their expiry date are used widely . “Farmers are using pesticides in excess of what is permitted -up to five times -and do not follow the prescribed intervals for their use. It is alarming that these chemicals are sprayed even during harvesting,“ the report says.

Insecticides, pesticides and antibiotics are indiscriminately applied on curry leaves, carrot, potato, cabbage, garlic, cauliflower, drumstick, snake gourd, cucumber and brinjal and in fruits like gooseberry and red banana that are culti vated in these farms.

The committee observed that horticulture department guidelines were ignored in us ing pesticides and fertilisers and farmers are advised by rep resentatives of fertiliser com panies.

“It is reliably understood that cauliflower and brinjal are marketed after dipping in pesti cide solutions. In potato farm ing, phorate pesticides and in dophil fungicides are mixed with soil before planting,“ the report has said.

Breaking the popular perception that polyhouse farming is healthier, the committee, which visited such a farm for cucumber in Dindigul, found that pesticide used here is more than that in ordinary farming as pests are likely to spread rapidly under controlled atmosphere in covered areas.

“In these farms, hormones, pesticides and micronutrients with heavy metals are used.The committee found that a dedicated pesticide expert is advising the farmer in the use of pesticide,“ the report said.

The report says indiscriminate use of pesticides leads to cancer in breasts, prostrate, brain, bone, thyroid, colon, liver and lungs. Infertility is continuously found to be a result of exposure to these agrochemicals. While Atrazine -a weed killer -is partially responsible for miscarriage and infertility , chlorpyriphods -that are often used in strawberry , apple, peach and orchards -leads to lowering testosterone levels.Children found to be exposed to organophosphates are likely to have ADHD and learning problems.