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Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur
The history of agricultural education in Kerala can be traced back to the year 1896 when a scheme was evolved in the erstwhile Travancore State to train a few young men in scientific agriculture at the Demonstration Farm, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, presently, the Cropping Systems Research Centre under Kerala Agricultural University. Agriculture was introduced as an optional subject in the middle school classes in the State in 1922 when an Agricultural Middle School was started at Aluva, Ernakulam District. The popularity and usefulness of this school led to the starting of similar institutions at Kottarakkara and Konni in 1928 and 1931 respectively.
Agriculture was later introduced as an optional subject for Intermediate Course in 1953. In 1955, the erstwhile Government of Travancore-Cochin started the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy, Thrissur for imparting higher education in agricultural and veterinary sciences, respectively. These institutions were brought under the direct administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry, respectively. With the formation of Kerala State in 1956, these two colleges were affiliated to the University of Kerala. The post-graduate programmes leading to M.Sc. (Ag), M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees were started in 1961, 1962 and 1965 respectively.
On the recommendation of the Second National Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission, one Agricultural University in each State was established. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) were established in India as an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System to give the much needed impetus to Agriculture Education and Research in the Country. As a result the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) was established on 24th February 1971 by virtue of the Act 33 of 1971 and started functioning on 1st February 1972. The Kerala Agricultural University is the 15th in the series of the SAUs.
In accordance with the provisions of KAU Act of 1971, the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, were brought under the Kerala Agricultural University. In addition, twenty one agricultural and animal husbandry research stations were also transferred to the KAU for taking up research and extension programmes on various crops, animals, birds, etc.
During 2011, Kerala Agricultural University was trifurcated into Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU).
Now the University has seven colleges (four Agriculture, one Agricultural Engineering, one Forestry, one Co-operation Banking & Management), six RARSs, seven KVKs, 15 Research Stations and 16 Research and Extension Units under the faculties of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry. In addition, one Academy on Climate Change Adaptation and one Institute of Agricultural Technology offering M.Sc. (Integrated) Climate Change Adaptation and Diploma in Agricultural Sciences respectively are also functioning in Kerala Agricultural University.
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ThesisItem Open Access Economics of coconut cultivation in Calicut district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1987) Premaja, P; KAU; Mukundan, KA study on the economics of coconut cultivation in Calicut district was conducted during the period 1985-86, to evaluate the costs and returns, capital productivity, resource use efficiency of yielding plantation, the problems of coconut cultivators and the impact of incentives given by different agencies for coconut cultivation. Three stage random sampling was adopted for the study and data were collected from a sample of 120 cultivators by personal interview method. Coconut was cultivated mostly in small holdings and the average area under coconuts in the sample was 0.24 hectare. Most of the holdings were rainfed. Total cost of cultivation for 16 years was estimated to be Rs. 91,311 for the district, in terms of 1985-86 prices. The major item of expenditure was human labour constituting about 50.49 percent of the total cost. Fertilisers including farm yard manure accounted for 24.16 percent and harvesting charges for 9.90 percent of the total cost for 16 years. The total cost of bringing one hectare of coconut plantation up to bearing stage (initial 7 years’ expenditure) was estimated as Rs.38,773 and the maintenance cost per hectare per year was Rs.5,853. The average annual production of nuts per hectares during the stabilized period was estimated as 10049 nuts. Cost of production per nut was calculated as Rs.1.12. The estimated net returns on investment per hectare per year come to Rs.13,835 based on 1983-84 prices. Pay back period was found to be 13.18 years. Benefit cost ratio was calculated as 1.44. Net present worth was Rs.24.454 and internal rate of return was calculated to be 16.39 percent. The factors age, labour, fertilizer and plant protection were found to have significant influence on the gross income obtained from a coconut garden. High input costs, poor irrigation facilities and difficulties associated with marketing were some of the general problems faced by the sample farmers. The study showed that in general, incentives and subsidies given by different agencies have had very little impact on coconut cultivation in the study area.ThesisItem Open Access Productivity of capital finance in technological changes in agriculture in Trivandrum district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1987) Jayan, K; KAU; Prabhakaran, TThis study on capital productivity and role of finance in technological changes in agriculture was carried out using data collected from sample holdings selected from the second and fifth wards of Chettivilakam panchayath and first and fourth wards of Ulloor panchayath under Trivandrum Rural Block in Trivandrum district, Kerala, through multistage random sampling technique. Two samples of size 35 each were selected, the first being that of beneficiaries of agricultural loans and the second being that of non-beneficiaries. The data collected from the two samples were analysed size group wise using production function analysis and Linear programming to estimate the productivity of capital and to generate optimum crop plans under existing and improved technologies. Fertilizer followed by irrigation came out to be the most productive forms of capital. Labour was found to be less productive. Productivity was found to be more in the smaller farms of the beneficiary category. Optimal crop plans developed using Linear programming had shown the potential for increasing the farm income even under the existing technology, by the re-allocation and judicious use of the existing resources. Provision of additional dose of capital showed the possibility of increasing the net farm income in substantial levels even in the existing level of technology. Adoption of improved technology with adequate capital has shown much higher potential for increasing the farm income and this increase was more in the non-beneficiary category. The credit gap for the adoption of the improved technology was also found to be more for the non-beneficiary category and in both the categories the credit gap was found to be the highest for the smallest size group.ThesisItem Open Access Economic enquiry into the impact of cement-kiln dust on agriculture based on perception of farmers(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1989) Seema, P; KAU; Mukundan, KAn economic enquiry into the impact of cement-kiln dust on agriculture was carried out based on farmers perception during 1987-89. The objectives were to study the socio-economic situation in the polluted area and to arrive at the impact of cement-kiln dust on agriculture. Easterlies prevailing in November to March season determined the intensity and dispersal of cement kiln dust from the source of emission. Simple random sample of 105 cultivators with farms located at different distances from the plant upto 20 kms south west and 20 cultivators from the control zone were selected as informants. More than per cent of respondents in the first zone and 39 per cent in the control were- deriving their livelihood from farm sector alone. The maximum frequency class of holding size was between one and two hectares in the polluted zone (33.34 per cent) and less than one hectare in the control (47.84 per cent). The relatively illiquid assets (71.99 per cent of the total value was for agricultural assets in the polluted zone while it was 49 per cent in the control) possessed by farmers in the polluted area were also characterised by low value (109.78 (in Rs. ’000) in the first region and 175.70 in the control). As suggested also by liabilities largely comprising of overdues (68.70 per cent in the polluted zone and 49.75 per cent in the control), there was an over representation of economically weaker population in the polluted area.ThesisItem Open Access Performance of regional rural banks in Kerala with special reference to South Malabar Gramin Bank(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1986) Viswanathan, K U; KAU; Radhakrishnan, VRegional Rural Banks were established with the main objective of developing the rural economy by providing credit facilities for the development of agriculture, trade, commerce, industries and other productive industries in the rural areas, particularly to the small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, artisans and small entrepreneurs. The rationale for a specialized institution oriented to rural credit follows the identification of a specific regional and functional gap in the existing institutional credit structure. The new institutions were not intended to replace but to supplement the other institutional agencies in the field. In Kerala two RRBs viz. North Malabar Gramin Bank at Cannanore and South Malabar Gramin Bank at Malappuram were established in December 1976. The specific objective of the present study were 1. To review the working of RRBs in Kerala. 2. To assess the extent to which they have been able to fulfil their objectives by way of extending credit to the target groups. 3. To assess the impact of finance from RRB on the beneficiaries. 4. To point out shortcomings if any in the working and to suggest remedies. The study was conducted in two parts. In the first part, available secondary data on the functioning of the two RRBs in Kerala during the past were collected from the head offices of the two banks and also from other published sources like RBI periodicals and journals. Overall aspects like expansion of branches, mobilization of deposits, advances made, income, expenditure and profit/loss position and deployment of credit to various sectors were the points looked into in this analysis. The second part of the study is based on data from the beneficiary level and is confined to the beneficiaries of SMGB. To examine the functioning of the bank at primary level among different groups, both short term and medium term loans were studied separately. This classification envisaged the study of agricultural and non- agricultural advances of the SMGB separately because majority of the short term loans were crop loans whereas majority of the medium term loans were small trade loans. A sample of sixty crop loanees and sixty small trade loanees selected through two stage random sampling were personally contacted and data were collected using well structured interview schedules prepared separately for both the categories. In order to serve as control in respect of short term loans another sample of 30 non-borrower farmers were also interviewed from the same area. Information regarding family status, family income and its sources, cropping pattern and intensity, cost of cultivation of major crops, input use pattern etc. were collected from the sample farmers. Details of type of trade, incremental investment and turnover, incremental income and its contribution to family income etc. were the points concentrated in the case of small traders. The study revealed that the overall performance of the RRBs in Kerala was satisfactory. The banks could cover the five backward districts of the state and could emerge as premier banking institution in the areas of their operation. The expansion of branches, mobilization of deposits and advances made by these banks made steady progress throughout the past and they in many respects ranked among the better performed RRBs in the country. Relatively low average amount of credit per borrowal account extended and a shortfall in recovery are points to be mentioned as weak spots noticed in their functioning. The analysis of crop loans suggested that the loans had gone only to the eligible categories though the share received by agricultural labourers were less. The borrower farmers had a high cropping intensity, had used higher doses of inputs especially labour and fertilizer nutrients and had been realizing higher farm income per hectare compared to the non-borrowers. Linear programming analysis of the farms revealed that borrower farms had much better resource use efficiency than non-borrowers. The existing crop combinations was less than optimum in all the farms. There is possibility of increasing their net margins by mere reallocation of the existing resources. Crop plans worked at enhanced levels of capital (at 25% and 50% more than the existing) showed that the net margins could be profitably increased by employing more capital. Improved plans were also able to absorb more labour force, indicating clearly the employment generating capacity of capital. Besides the agricultural sector, the SMGB finance was found to opening vistas for higher earnings for a good number of young people of the weaker sections. Small trade was one of such ventures which dominated in number as well as in amount advanced. The small trade loans had resulted in incremental investment and hence in incremental turnover in all the categories of trade studied. The small traders with the borrowings had an average incremental investment of Rs.2448 which generated an incremental net income of Rs.747 per annum and an additional gainful employment of 35 mandays per annum. To conclude, RRBs in Kerala fared better than their counterparts in general in the rest of the country in terms of overall performance. They were found to be generally adhering to the objectives for which they were created.ThesisItem Open Access Study on the supply response and marketing of natural rubber in Kerala(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1986) Viju Ipe, C; KAU; Prabhakaran, TThe present study on supply response and marketing of natural rubber in Kerala developed estimates of short-term and long-term supply response of rubber to price changes and analysed the structure and performance of the rubber market in Kerala. To analyse the supply response time-series data on area, production, productivity and prices of natural rubber published by the Rubber Board were used. The trend analysis showed that over the period of 31 years from 1953-’54 to 1983-’84, the total area, tappable area, production, productivity and prices of natural rubber showed positive and appreciable growth rates. In the case of tappable area, production and productivity, simple and compound growth rate during the period after 1960-’61 were greater than during the period prior to 1960-’61. Similarly in the case of price of natural rubber the growth rates during the period after 1976-’77 were greater than that during the period prior to 1976-’77. Econometric analysis of the short-run supply response showed that the response to one year lagged price was positive though not significant with an elasticity of 0.0468. The response of average yields to current price was negative but not significant. The variables considered explained over 94 per cent of the total variation in the average yield of rubber. The analysis revealed the existence of a significant time trend indicative of the technological changes in rubber production. The elasticity with respect to the current price was -0.1247 and that with respect to the lagged price of rubber relative to that of coconut was -0.1135. In the analysis of long-term supply response, the producer expectations derived by the declining geometric lag weighted specification and moving average models, were tried but the latter performed better. The variables considered explained over 80 per cent of the total variation in the new planted area. The response of new-planted area to the expected price of rubber was positive with an elasticity of 0.5492. The elasticity with respect to the expected price of coconut was -0.4309. Similarly the response of newplanted area to the expected price of rubber relative to that of coconut price was positive with an elasticity of 0.3430. The analysis of market structure revealed six important channels in the sheet rubber market. The analysis of market concentration point to the possibility of decreasing competition among the dealers with larger volumes and thus the possibility of increasing share of the total market for rubber. This, however, does not seem to have appreciably affected the market margins, and the element of competition is still perceptible. The gross marketing margin worked out to Rs.78.95 per quintal of sheet rubber and the marketing costs incurred by all the intermediaries was Rs.28.82 per quintal. The net marketing margin was Rs.50.13 per quintal. The price spread between the primary dealer and the producer was Rs.20.14 per quintal and that between the primary dealer and the secondary dealer was Rs.58.76 per quintal. The marketing costs incurred by the primary dealer and the secondary dealer were Rs.9.94 and Rs.18.87 per quintal of sheet rubber respectively. The producer’s share in the manufacturers rupee worked out to 95.27 per cent. The analysis of progress made by the co-operative societies dealing in rubber in terms of their number and total quantity of sheet rubber marketed showed that they declined over the period from 1971-’72 to 1979-’80.ThesisItem Open Access Study on marketing margins and market structure of cashew nut in Kerala(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1987) Rajasekharan, P; KAU; Radhakrishnan, VA study on marketing margins and Market Structure of Cashewnut in Kerala was conducted during 1985-’86 season and the main objectives were to analyse the present marketing costs and margins, to evaluate efficiency of transportation, storage, processing and to anlyse the likely impact of changes in marketing organization and structure on pricing efficiency. Two panchayats viz. Enmaje and Kottiyoor from Cannanore district and one panchayat viz. Karupra from Quilon district were selected for the study. Three wards from each panchayath and eight farmers from each ward and altogether 72 farmers were selected randomly. From the selected wards a sample of various intermediaries and few wholesalers from the nearest place were interviewed. Harvesting and marketing season for cashewnuts started by February and continued till May. The farmers in Enmakaje and Karupra panchayats harvested natured nuts and the farmers in Kottiyoor panchayat collected the fallen nuts. The various market functionaries involved in cashewnut marketing were the village merchants, petty traders, itinerant traders, semi-wholesalers, wholesalers and processors. Five marketing channels were identified in Enmakaje panchayat and the first channel viz. Producer-Village merchant-wholesaler-processor was found to be the main channel in moving rawnuts in the panchayat. Ninety two per cent of the farmers sold 72 per cent of the total quantity to buyers within the village and only 8 per cent sold outside the village. The sales of different types of traders to the wholesalers showed that 72.71 per cent of village merchants sold 86.81 per cent of nuts to the wholesalers which indicated a high degree of concentration in the volume of rawnuts purchased. Two marketing channels were identified in Kottiyoor panchayat and the first channel viz. producer- Village merchant- wholesaler – processor was identified as the main channel and eighty seven per cent of farmers sold their produce to the village merchant which constituted 74.31 per cent of total sales of sample. Three marketing channels were identified in Karupra panchayat and the first channel viz. Producer – Village merchant – Wholesaler – Processor was observed to be the main channel in moving nuts and 83.33 per cent of farmers sold 86.68 per cent nuts to village merchants. The market structure indicated large number of buyers at the farmer level, and a possibility of competition among the buyers was identified. Marketing costs of farmers and different agencies were worked out in three panchayats. Drying charges formed the major item of cost for the farmers in Enmakaje and Karupra and cost of transport formed the major cost item of farmers in Kottiyoor panchayat. Cost of transport, loading/unloading and cost of packing material formed the major cost item of various intermediaries in the three panchayats. The cost incurred by the processors were estimated on the basis of information obtained from sample factories in Quilon district and worked out to Rs.337.80 per quintal of rawnuts. Wages formed the major share of processor’s cost which constituted 27.71 per cent of the cost. Total recovery of kernels was estimated as 26.79 per cent and the returns from by-products such as cashewnut shell liquid, shell and skin were computed to Rs. 64.83 per quintal of nuts. Marketing margins were worked out from the stage of farmer sale of nuts to the stage of wholesale of kernels based on the New York market price using a variant of concurrent margin. The processors reaped very high profits of Rs. 356.86 (18.17 per cent of total realization), Rs.373.01 (18.37 per cent) and Rs.522.01 (25.71 per cent) per quintal of nuts in Enmakaje, Kottiyoor and Karupra panchayats, respectively. Marketing margins computed through concurrent margin showed exorbitant profit for the processors and the net margins of processors worked out through lagged margin method by taking into account driage and interest on inventory holding from April to November corresponding to processing period of rawnuts also were in consonance with that of results of concurrent margin method. Net margin of processors through lagged margin method varied from Rs.232.39 to Rs.819.32 (12.47 to 33.43 per cent of total realization) Rs.182.46 to Rs.769.39 (9.79 to 31.40 per cent) and Rs.335.67 to Rs.922.60 (18.01 to 37.65 per cent) per quintal of nuts in Enmakaje, Kottiyoor and Karupra panchayats, respectively from April to November 1986. High margins are a symptom of inefficiency.ThesisItem Open Access Marketing of coconuts in Calicut district -an economic investigation(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1987) Renuka Nair, V; KAU; Radakrishnan, VThe present study on marketing of coconuts in Calicut district done in 1985 used the method of multistage stratified random sampling. Six panchayats were randomly selected and from these, one ward each was again randomly selected. Lists of coconut growers were classified into four on the basis of land holding size. Twenty-five growers were selected from each ward, the number from each strata being roughly in proportion to the total number of bearing trees. Tabular method was the main analytical tool for data interpretation. Apart from this, correlation coefficients were calculated to estimate degree of interrelationship among various market prices and the method of twelve month moving averages was used to compute seasonal indices in respect of coconut oil prices. For working out the marketing margins, a variant of the concurrent method was used. It was seen that the average size of land holding was very low, being 0.23 hectare. As much as 70.53 per cent of the gross cropped area was occupied by coconuts. Agriculture was mostly combined with other activities. Farm sales of coconut was the main method of sale adopted by sample farmers mainly due to the convenience and advances received. Mature nuts were harvested by the farmers who sold it to copra makers in the viscinity as such, who converted it to copra, by sun drying as well as smoke drying and sold it to oil mills at Calicut who sold it to retailers, which was identified as the main marketing channel. The ruling wholesale market rates for copra and oil were the main criteria for price determination at farmers level. The proportion of marketed surplus varied directly with size, ranging from 30.46 per cent to 81.68 per cent among the different size groups. Structural characteristics of the market at the farmer level did not indicate any possibility of conduct which was unfavourable to the farmers. Marketing margins were worked out using the prices received by farmers in the Malayalam month of Meenam (15th March to 15th April) from the sale of nuts and the corresponding retail prices of oil in Calicut and wholesale prices of oil in Bombay. Farmers’ share was 76.48 per cent of total realization from different products at wholesale price. On an average the total marketing costs came to Rs.29.92 (for 100 nuts and equivalent quantity of products) from copra maker to the retailer of oil at Calicut market, accounting to 9.98 per cent and 9.38 per cent of the average realization from sale of different products at wholesale and retail prices of oil respectively. The total marketing margins came to 23.52 per cent and 28.14 per cent respectively at the retail stage of oil and wholesale stage of oil. The net margin of oil millers constituted 1.21 per cent of total realization from all products at wholesale prices and the same was 1.36 per cent of their purchase price of copra. Net margins of retailers worked out to 6.77 per cent of their buying price of oil. There was no price discrimination against the very small farmers. The average prices received for nuts was almost equal in all size classes. On sale to Bombay the costs of millers averaged Rs.18.02 for oil equivalent of 100 nuts, their net margin being 6.69 per cent of total realization from wholesale price of oil in Bombay together with the wholesale prices in Calicut for the other products. Correlation coefficients of monthly prices of coconut in villages and Calicut market were found to be very high indicating that primary markets and the terminal market was highly integrated. Spatial price differences of coconuts between villages on the one hand and Calicut market on the other were not significant. Seasonality in production was seen concentrated in the peak months of the Malayalam year, namely, Makaram, Medam and Meenam. Seasonality was observed to be more pronounced in the monthly sales of coconuts, based on the data obtained from sample farmers. The pattern of seasonal price movements revealed that the marketing system cannot be considered to have performed efficiently. The corporation’s role was seen as rather insignificant.
