Chittoor district, which hosts a number of food processing industries, has a vast export potential. But indiscriminate use of pesticides has become the Achilles heel of farmers and entrepreneurs in exploiting that potential.
To assess the residue levels in agricultural produce, a state-of-the-art Pesticide Residue Testing Lab is being established at the Institute of Frontier Technology (IFT) in the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) of Tirupati.
Aided by Rs. 83 lakh sanctioned under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and other programmes, the laboratory aims to guide farmers in cultivating pesticide-free produce to suit the export market.
The facility is expected to start operations within a month's time.
“Crops such as tomatoes, chillies, brinjal, gherkins, tamarind, grapes and mango, which are widely grown in Chittoor district, have good international demand. In addition to this, the southern zone (covering Chittoor, Nellore and Kadapa districts) has the potential to export paddy, groundnut and jaggery. But the increasing usage of pesticides has become a problem,” said IFT principal scientist T. Murali Krishna.
The entomologist said that farmers, knowingly or unknowingly, spray pesticides disregarding the prescribed waiting period i.e., the duration for which chemical residue remains on the crop. “With help from the Pesticide Residue Testing Lab, we can assess the residue persistence in soil/crops, the maximum residue limits (MRL) of various pesticides and the level of pesticide contamination. This data will allow us to offer suggestions to farmers to reduce use of chemicals,” he added.
The facility will work in colloboration the with the pesticide lab at the Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University's (ANGRAU) at Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad to validate protocols in quantifying both new and traditional pesticide molecules.
The laboratory can also be used to impart training to farmers, government personnel and others for developing/upgrading skills pertaining to handling and application of pesticides.
ANGRAU vice-chancellor A. Padma Raju, director of research K. Raja Reddy and RARS associate director of research T. Giridhar Krishna have been instrumental in getting the facility to Tirupati. Proposals have been sent to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for strengthening infrastructure at the lab.
They are also working to obtain NABL accreditation for the lab which will enable into issue certificates authenticating farmers’ produce.
Chittoor district’s proximity to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as well as the Krishnapatnam port in Nellore and the upcoming international airport at Renigunta will certainly open up export opportunities for the region, officials said.
Aided by Rs. 83 lakh sanctioned under RKVY, the lab will guide farmers in cultivating pesticide-free produce