Rumours and fake social media campaign put Kerala’s pineapple farmers at risk
A fake social media campaign puts Kerala’s pineapple farmers at risk. The campaign spread rumours about excessive use of harmful pesticides in pineapples producing in Vazhakulam, which is also called Kerala’s pineapple hub.
Vazhakulam, a small town in Ernakulam district in Kerala produces about 80,000 tones of pineapples annually with nearly 3500 farmers cultivate the fruit on about 8000 acres.
Rumours and allegations of excessive use of pesticides have shaken the pineapple market, which has been recovering slowly from the shock of an early monsoon and Nipah virus outbreak.
While 90 per cent of the produce from Vazhakulam is shipped off to other Indian states and the Middle East. So, such rumours are suicidal for the pineapple market and farmers depending on it.
Farmers who accept their produce aren’t organic, also say that they use minimal pesticides and foliar fertilisers. According to them, the farms strictly follow the ‘package of practice’ prepared by the Kerala Agriculture University (KAU) which recommends the pesticide levels.
The farmers also accuse that those who misunderstood the mechanized spraying as dangerous chemical like Endosulphan are behind the rumours. The Pineapple Research Station at Vazhakulam has also attested that a pesticide control takes random samples from retail markets for tests and have never reported excessive use of pesticides.
When rumour mongers spread fake reports, clouds of anxiety loom over thousands of farmers and migrant labourers, whose lives depend on the rise and fall of the pineapple market.
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