Loading...
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.
Browse
13 results
Search Results
ThesisItem Open Access Investment pattern in rural households of Ollukkara Block Panchayath in Thrissur District(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2002) Pratheesh, V.S.; KAU; Thomas, E.K.Agriculture which is the back bone of Indian economy, is now heading towards a radical transformation. When the green revolution technology was introduced in the mid sixties, great expectations were raised as to the beneficial effects it could induce into every class of farmers and other sectors of the populations by increasing food production, employment opportunities and income levels. But its latter day performances have belied these expectations and it seemed that only those who have necessary absorptive capacity or infrastructure are only benefited. So for the betterment of agriculture there should be more and more investment both in the public and private sector. Under these circumstances the present study entitled "Investment Pattern in rural households of Ollukkara block panchayath in Thrissur district" is of high relevance and was conducted with the following objectives. 1. To study the different sources of income of rural people 2. To examine the savings and expenditure pattern 3. To analyze the nature of investment 4. To identify the constraints associated with investment in rural areas. The study was conducted in the sample selected at random from 50 numbers of Agricultural labourers, farmers and service sector people from the five wards selected from the total 74 wards in the Ollukkara block panchayath of Thrissur district. The data for the agricultural year 2001-2002 were collected using a well structured interview schedule. The study revealed that the mainsource of farm income in farmers and service sector people was crops where as for labourers it was livestock. On an average 81. 9 5 per cent of the total farm income was directed from the crops and only 18,95 was from livestock. Category wise analysis showed that net income and benefit cost ratio were much higher for labourer households and lowest for service sector people. 141 At the aggregate level, consumption expenditure accounted for 78.91 per cent, and the rest 21.09 per cent was for farm expenditure. Of the total, 78.09 per cent of farm expenditure was incurred for crops and only 21.91 per cent was made for livestock. The Category wise analysis showed that per household savings was highest for the service sector people followed by farmers and labourers. With respect to the gross farm investment, purchase of livestock was the most important item of investment followed by investment on land improvement, purchase of irrigation appliances, construction and repair of farm buildings and digging and repair of wells. The average rate of farm investment was only 1.53 per cent while the non farm investment was at the rate of 5.41 per cent. Lack of employment, High cost of living, and high loan out standing were reported as the most important constraint for investment along with constraints like non availability of labour, lack of irrigation etc.ThesisItem Open Access Economic Analysis Of Production And Marketing Of Mushrooms(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2000) Renjith Raja, R; KAU; Elsamma JobThe present study entitled the Economics of Production and Marketing of Mushroom was undertaken during the year 1999-2000. This study was conducted in Thiruvananthapuram district. This district was purposely selected for the study because mushroom growmg units on commercial basis are well established ill Thiruvananthapuram district. A sample of 100 growers who maintained contact with the training centres was selected. Each farmer was interviewed personally. Among the 100 sample farmers 36 were cultivating mushrooms and the remaining had given up cultivation. All the mushroom growers were post-stratified on the basis of nature of investment into Category-I (Temporary upto Rs.15000 ), Category-IT (Semi-permanent Rs.15000-25000) and Category-Ill (Permanent above Rs.25000) Tabular analysis was used to study the socio-economic features, to estimate the cost and returns, marketing cost and margins of mushrooms. Cost concepts were used to estimate the income measures. At aggregate level the total cost incurred for cultivation of mushroom was Rs. 8167.83. Material inputs accounted for about 82.85 per cent of the total working capital requirement for the sample as a whole. Hired labour component was absent in category-I. At aggregate level this accounted for 17.15 per cent total working capital requirement. Total working capital requirement for mushroom production was Rs. 3738.51. As compared to males, females were more in the working force, which shows the women's participation in mushroom cultivation. Explicit costs accounted for 45.77 percent of the total cost. Implicit cost accounted for 54.23 per cent of the total cost. Cost A], Bj, Cl, and C3 per crop cycle for the sample as a whole was Rs. 4144.95, Rs. 4522.91, Rs. 1425.30 and Rs. 8167.83. The total working capital requirement for producing 1 kilogram of spawn was Rs. 12.83. Explicit cost accounted for 71.60 per cent of the total cost. Implicit cost accounted for 28.40 per cent of the total cost. Cost AI, B), Cl, and C3 per kilogram' of spawn Rs. 14.25, Rs. 14.49, and Rs. 16.29, 17.92 respectively. Gross income from mushroom for the sample as a whole was Rs. 12118.60. Gross income from spawn production was Rs. 40.00 for one kilogram of , spawn. Farm business income was Rs. 7973.65 for mushroom production and farm business income of spawn was Rs 25.75. For the sample as a whole the family labour income was Rs. 7595.69. and Rs. 25.51 in the case of spawn production .. The net income from mushrooms was Rs. 3950.77 and from spawn production it was Rs. 22.08. Farm investment income was Rs. 4328.73 and Rs. 22.32 for mushrooms and spawn production. The Benefit-Cost ratio was 1.48. The operating ratio which represents the efficiency of variable costs was 0.31. Aggregate fixed ratio was 0.21. The Benefit-Cost ratio in spawn production was 2.23. The operating ratio was 0.32. Fixed ratio was 0.08 Cobb Douglas production function fitted with returns (rupees) as dependent variable and expenditure on inputs like straw, spawn and labour as independent variables revealed that additional expenditure on straw and spawn could increase the output. The input human labour was found to be in' excess use. The most important marketing channel identified for mushroom was . , Producer-Consumer. Producers share in consumer rupee was 75 per cent. The retailer reaped a net margin of25 per cent for which they did not incurred any cost. The major constraint faced by mushroom growers in production was low yield due to incidence of pest and diseases and among the marketing problems the major constraint identified was lack of awareness among consumers.ThesisItem Open Access Economics analysis of rice - fish sequential farming system In the low lying paddy fields of Kuttanad,Kerala(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2001) Shanat Mathew, K; KAU; Joseph, K JThe present study on "Economic analysis of rice-fish sequential farming system in the low lying paddy fields of Kuttanad, Kerala" was aimed to analyse comparative economics of rice monocropping and rice-fish sequential farming systems, to quantity the employment generation capacity of the integrated system and to identify the constraints in the wide spread adoption of rice-fish sequential farming system. The study was undertaken during May - July 2000 and the data pertains to the year 1999. Data for the study was generated through sample survey of farmers by personal interview method using a pretested structured interview schedule. The study was conducted with a sample of 100 farmers for each system of cultivation. Two stage random sampling was adopted for the study. Tabular analysis was used to analyse the data. The cost of cultivation (cost C3) of rice under monocropping (Rs.23419.47 per hectare) and of rice under sequential farming system (Rs.1972S.31 per hectare) Was estimated. For fish, the cost of cultivation per hectare was Rs.6768.39. The major expenditure on input for rice cultivation under both systems and for fish was human labour. In rice monocropping, land preparation was observed to be the most expensive operation, whereas, in sequential farming weeding was the most expensive operation. In the case of fish cultivation, harvesting of fish turned out to be the most cost consuming operation. Gross income per hectare realized from the main as well as by product at the aggregate level was Rs.2S252.50, Rs.28371.00, and Rs.8782.95 for rice (monocropping), rice (sequential farming) and fish respectively. Cost of production per quintal of rice (monocropping) was Rs.64S.16 and for rice (sequential farming) was Rs.482.0S. For fish, cost of production per quintal of fish estimated to be Rs.1538.62. Benefi t cost ratio at cost C3 was found to be highest (1.44) in the rice cultivation under sequential farming. The corresponding figures for rice monocropping and fish were 1.08 and 1.30 respectively. This new system could provide on additional employment of 14.31 mandays per hectare. Even though this new integrated systems was profitable, lack of finance and non co-operation among farmers to an extend hinder the adoption of this practice. The major constraints experienced by the farmers in the cultivation were also identified.ThesisItem Open Access Economic Analysis Of Production And Marketing Of Vegetables In Thiruvananthapuram District(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture,Vellanikkara, 2001) Nagesh, S S; KAU; Rageena, SThe present study on "Economic analysis of production and marketing of vegetables in Thiruvananthapuram district" was conducted with a view to examine the costs and returns of vegetable cultivation, employment generation, marketing efficiency, technical efficiency and problems encountered in production and marketing of vegetables. A comparative study of vegetable growers of KHDP and IVDP was also carried out. The data pertains to the year 1999-2000. The total explicit costs for IVDP and KHDP snakegourd growers were Rs. 62711.60 and Rs. 61448.40 respectively. Total implicit cost was worked out at Rs. 64956.90 and Rs. 58140.20 respectively for IVDP and KHDP growers. Bitter gourd was the only crop, which recorded a benefit-cost ratio higher than one at cost C3. The total cost of cultivation (Cost C3) ranged from the lowest of Rs. 64313.70 for amaranth us to as high as Rs. 134135.60 for bittergourd. Bittergourd was the most remunerative crop in the area with a gross return of Rs. 206065.20 for KHDP and a benefit cost ratio of 1.53 at cost C3. Cost of organic manure occupied the highest share of the total cost of cultivation of all the three crops. The KHDP bittergourd growers showed an estimated mean technical efficiency of 80 per cent and for IVDP growers it was 71 per cent. In the study area most of the vegetable producers marketed their produce in the markets in Thiruvananthapuram city. The marketing efficiency was highest for bittergourd (l.99) followed by snake gourd (l.31) and amaranthus (0.83). The major constraints experienced in cultivation were incidence of pests and diseases, unavailability of quality seeds at reasonable cost, lack of credit availability and lack of .marketing facilities.ThesisItem Open Access Production and marketing systems of vetiver : a micro-level analysis in Thrissur district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2002) Deepakumar, V S; KAU; Satheesh Babu, KThe present study entitled " Production and marketing systems of vetiver : a micro-level analysis in Thrissur district" was conducted with the objective of working out the cost of production and returns of vetiver cultivation, to study the marketing channels, and to identify production and marketing problems encountered by vetiver growers of the area. The data pertains to the period from January 2000 to December 2000. Eighty commercial farmers who cultivated vetiver for more than three years were selected at random, and the information required for the study were collected by personal interview using a structured, pre-tested schedule of enquiry . • The cost of cultivating one hectare of vetiver was worked out to Rs. 117975, Rs. 101760 and Rs. 93533 at cost C3 for the category I (less than 0.50 ha), category 11 (0.50 - l.0 ha) and category III (more than l.0 ha) farmers respectively. Organic manures constituted the major item of expenditure, constituting 29 per cent of the paid out cost. This was followed by expenditure on hired human labour, which accounted for 26 per cent of the explicit cost. The cost of production of one kilogram of dry vetiver root at cost C3 were Rs. 12.27, Rs. 12.77 Rs. 6.85 and Rs. 1l.57 respectively for the cat~gories I, 11, III and the sample as a whole. On an average vetiver farmer had a gross income of Rs. 126644 per hectare. The net income for the three categories of farmers were Rs. 2931, Rs. 14352 and Rs. 90998 per hectare for the categories I, 11 and III respectively. The BCR estimated at cost C3 were found to be more than unity for the entire category of farmers. The entire marketing system was organized in the private sector. The Producer - Wholesaler - Processor - Consumer, and Producer - Wholesaler - Drug Dealer - Consumer were the two major marketing channels identified in the area. The economic efficiency of marketing measured by the modified Shepherd's Index indicated that both local and interstate markets were efficient, with a value of more than unity. The main production related constraints were non-availability of institutional credit and dependency on private money lenders, increase in rental charges of land and escalating fuel charges for the irrigation system. Year-to-year fluctuation of vetiver root price, delayed settlement of transactions and risk of losing weight during storage were the major marketing related problems .ThesisItem Open Access Economic analysis of production and marketing of cashew nut in Kerala(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2001) Shibu, Sebastian; KAU; Jessy, Thomas KThe present study on the economic analysis of production and marketing of cashewnut in Kerala was aimed to examine the supply response of cashew nuts, to study the marketing channels and margins and to identify the constraints experienced by the producers in the production and marketing of cashew nuts. The growth rate analysis using exponential function revealed that during the whole period under study (1952-53 to 1999-2000), the area under cashew expanded by 2.22 per cent per annum. Period wise analysis showed a significant increase in area by 5.97 per cent per annum in the first period followed by a decline by 1.82 per cent in the second period (1976-77 to 1999-2000). Regarding production, a low growth rate of 0.02 per cent per annum was observed during the whole period while the first period registered a growth rate of 3.76 per cent per annum and a decline by 1.18 per cent in the second period. But the productivity showed a decrease by 2.11 per cent in the whole period. The first sub- period registered a decline in productivity by 2.08 per cent while the second period recorded a slight increase by 0.87 per cent per annum. The analysis using linked exponential model also yielded more or less similar results. The producers' response to price and non price factors was examined by studying the response in terms of area and yield. The analysis revealed that the price of cashew did not have a significant impact on yield, while the relative yield showed a positive and significant influence on yield. The relative price and the price of rubber showed a significant influence on area under cashew. The annual maintenance cost at the aggregate level was computed to Rs.7709.77 per hectare. The material cost was worked out to Rs.1765.89 and labour cost was computed to Rs.5943.88. The gross and net returns per hectare at the aggregate level was worked out to Rs.21427 and RS.13717.23 respectively. The major marketing channels identified in the study were 'Producer-village trader-primary wholesaler-secondary wholesaler-processor', 'Producer-primary wholesaler-secondary wholesaler-processor' and 'Producer-secondary wholesaler-processor'. The producers' net share in the processors' revenue was estimated to 48.26, 48.58 and 48.92 per cent respectively in marketing channels I, II and Ill. Marketing efficiency indices for channels I, II and III were computed to 1.86, 1.88 and 1.90 respectively. The constraint analysis revealed that pests, diseases and low price of the produce were the most important problems faced by the producers in the study area.ThesisItem Open Access Capital formation in farm households of Kerala – a study in Nemom block panchayat of Thiruvananthapuram District(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2002) Rani, G; KAU; Jesy, K ThomasThe present investigation on capital formation in farm households of Nemom Block Panchayat of Thiruvananthapuram district was aimed to assess the extent and nature of capital formation and to identify the constraints faced by farmers in capital formation. Two stage random sampling and stratified sampling in the third stage was adopted for the selection of 150 respondent farmers based on their size of holdings. The socio economic features, capital formation and constraints faced by farmers on the basis of income, expenditure, savings and asset structure of the farmers were studied using tabular analysis. Income from crop formed the major share of total farm income. Material expenditure and expenditure on feed formed the major share oftotal crop expenditure and livestock expenditure respectively. Out ofthe total investment in farm households, major share was occupied by land residential buildings. When land, residential buildings, vehicles and household durables were excluded, the asset structure showed that largest share of investment was on wells and tanks. The average gross capital formation in farm households was Rs.34450.44 and average net capital formation was Rs.3290.54. Major share of gross and net capital formation was on land improvement. The income, expenditure, savings, value of assets, gross capital formation and net capital formation increased with farm size. It was low (0.71) in the sample farm households because of the high value of existing asset structure. Among the Panchayats, the rate of capital formation was maximum in Kalliyoor, where farming was the major source of income of majority of sample respondents. High wage rate was the most important constraint faced by farmers followed by high cost of living. Non - availability of labour, low product price, incidence of pest and diseases, lack of interest and negative attitude of younger generation towards farming were also identified as major obstacles in capital formation in sample farm households.ThesisItem Open Access Analysis of market economy of medicinal plants in Kerala(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2001) Joby Joseph, M; KAU; Indira Devi, PThe present investigation on analysis of market economy of medicinal plants in Kerala was undertaken during the year 1999-2001. The study aimed at identifying the major medicinal plants (in quantity and value terms) of pharmaceutical use in Kerala, the form in which it is demanded and the source and the extent of supply. The study is based on a sample of seven pharmacies, accounting for 68 percent of the total turnover of the industry. There are around 30 major wholesale traders of medicinal plants in the state and bulk of the business is handled by five traders and all of them in Thrissur district. From them, the information on price of important species, sources, plant part traded and other relevant details were gathered. Exports of ayurvedic and unani herbs have registered a steady increase, especially after 1996 and are reported to the tune of 9585.70 tonnes in 1999-2000. The major destinations of export of ayurvedic and unani herbs are Chinese Taipei (28.10%) Japan (26.38%), and Pakistan (19.04%). The major share of foreign exchange earnings from export of ayurvedic and unani plants is contributed by Pakistan (20.15%) followed by Japan (16.8%) and Chinese Taipei (13.6%). Nepal and Pakistan are the major countries from where ayurvedic and unani herbs are imported to India. They together account for 72.83 per cent of total imports of the country. The net balance of trade shows a fluctuating trend. It was declined from Rs.3247.27 lakhs in 1998-’99 to Rs.1201.24 lakhs in 1999-’00 and from 926.26 lakhs in 1993-94 to 671.82 lakhs in 1994-95. The major ten species of medicinal plants selected based on the magnitude of quantity procured per annum by the seven sample pharmacies are arranged in the descending order of importance. 1) Sida Spp. 2) Tinospora cordifolia. 3) Terminalia chebula. 4) Withania somnifera. 5) Adhatoda sp. 6) Cedrus deodera. 7) Cyperus rotundus. 8) Woodfordia fruiticosa. 9) Boerhaavia ditffusa. 10) Aegle marmelos. The annual compound growth in the consumption of medicinal plants varies from 4.19 per cent in Boerhaavia diffusa to 9.31 per cent in Aegle marmelos. The coefficient of variation in the price of major medicinal plants ranges from 8.62 per cent in Boerhaavia diffusa to 29.89 percent in the case of Terminalia chibula. The price elasticity of demand of all the medicinal plants studied were positive, varying from 0.33 per cent in the case of Boerhaavia diffusa to 3.31 in the case of Terminalia chibula. The ratio estimates of value of the medicinal plants traded indicate that Sida is the medicinal plant procured with highest total value followed by Withania. Aegle occupied the lowest both in respect of quantity and value. Estimates of scarcity ratio for Sida (2.79), Aegle (0.49) and Boerhaavia (6.82) were positive, which highlighted the relative scarcity of these plants. The major medicinal plants selected based on the unit prices procured by sample pharmacies are arranged in the descending order, 1. Aconitum heterophylum. 2. Lodolcea seychellarum 3. Crocus sativus. 4. Anacyclus pyrethrum. 5. Holstemma ada-kodien. 6. Kaempferia rotunda. 7. Piper longum. 8. Commiphora mukul. 9. Cinnamomum camphora. 10. Trichosanthes cucumerina. In the marketing scene, among the major channels identified, Tribals – Commission Agent – Trader/Dealer – Ayurvedic manufacturing units is found to be the main marketing channel through which major portion of the medicinal plants are marketed in the state (60-65%). The market for medicinal plant in the state is controlled by a few traders and pharmacies. The inadequate quality control mechanism both at product level and input level of ayurvedic industry is one of the major problems. This study has listed out the important constraints by the industry. However more concerted study is recommended to further elaborate the issues, among other recommendations.ThesisItem Open Access Economics of vegetable seed production in Chittur taluk of Palakkad district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2000) Sandhya, M Das; KAU; Indira Devi, PThe present study on "Economics of vegetable seed production in Chittur Taluk of Pa1akkad District" was conducted with the specific objective of evaluating its economics and identifying the problems. The study was undertaken during March-May 2000, and the data pertains to the year 1999. The production details of ten most important crops m the area (amaranthus, cucumber, chilli, bittergourd, okra, cowpea, pumpkin, snakegourd, ashgourd and brinjaJ) were gathered from the whole population of seed growers in the area by personal interview method using a pretested, structured questionnaire. The cost of cultivation (cost C1) ranged from the lowest Rs.29,514.95 in amaranthus to Rs.69,837.74 for chillies. Like in the case of most of the annual/seasonal crops in Kerala the major item of expenditure was human labour in all the crops except in amaranthus, pumpkin and ashgourd where it was manures and manuring. Manuring was proved to be the most expensive operation. While gross income realised was highest in chillies (Rs.l ,40,485.26) and lowest in okra (Rs.47,494.90) the cost of production was highest for snakegourd (Rs.23 1.68) and lowest for okra (Rs.61.17). Benefit cost ratio at cost C3 was found to be greater than one in all the crops studied. Amaranthus and cucumber seed production proved to be financially the most efficient enterprise. The germination tests conducted using the vegetable seed samples collected from the respondents revealed that all the samples conformed to the prescribed germination standards except in the case of pumpkin, ashgourd and brinjal. The major constraints experienced by the vegetable seed growers were also identified.