By Mahmoud Walaaleye
Minister of Agricultural Development Ahmed Mumin Seed has terminated a recent agreement with a Chinese company to plant castor trees at Wajale plains.
A statement from the minister’s office yesterday, signed by Minister Ahmed, said an earlier agreement had been reached with Africa Agriculture Development Group to plant 2,000 hectares of land with Castor plants.
Hon Muumin Ahmed Seed said the reason for suspending the agreement was that after extensive research, and in consultation with agronomists, they found that the castor tree was causing a lot of problems for soil, people and animals, so from the 26th September 2020, suspended the agreement.
Background: Allergenic potential
Ricinus is extremely allergenic, and has an OPALS allergy scale rating of 10 out of 10. The plant is also a very strong trigger for asthma, and allergies to Ricinus are commonplace and severe.
The castor oil plant produces abundant amounts of very light pollen, which easily become airborne and can be inhaled into the lungs, triggering allergic reactions. The sap of the plant causes skin rashes. Individuals who are allergic to the plant can also develop rashes from merely touching the leaves, flowers, or seeds. These individuals can also have cross-allergic reactions to latex sap from the related Hevea brasiliensis plant.
Toxicity: Seeds
The toxicity of raw castor beans is 
due to the presence of ricin. Although the lethal dose in adults is considered to be four to eight seeds, reports of actual poisoning are relatively rare.[25] According to the Guinness World Records, this is the world’s most poisonous common plant.[26] Symptoms of overdosing on ricin, which can include nausea, diarrhea, tachycardia, hypotension and seizures, persist for up to a week. However, the poison can be extracted from castor by concentrating it with a fairly complicated process similar to that used for extracting cyanide from almonds.
If ricin is ingested, symptoms commonly begin within 2–4 hours, but may be delayed by up to 36 hours. These include a burning sensation in mouth and throat, abdominal pain, purging and bloody diarrhea. Within several days there is severe dehydration, a drop in blood pressure and a decrease in urine. Unless treated, death can be expected to occur within 3–5 days; however, in most cases a full recovery can be made.
Poisoning occurs when animals, including humans, ingest broken castor beans or break the seed by chewing: intact seeds may pass through the digestive tract without releasing the toxin. The toxin provides the castor oil plant with some degree of natural protection from insect pests such as aphids. Ricin has been investigated for its potential use as an insecticide. The castor oil plant is also the source for undecylenic- acid, a natural fungicide.
Commercially available cold-pressed castor oil is not toxic to humans in normal doses, either internal or externally.
