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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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Subject: Agricultural Economics × Author: KAU × End date: 2003 × Start date: 2003 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Economics of commercial production and utilisation of medicinal rice (Oryza sativa L.) Njavara
    (Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2003) Jayakumar, V; KAU; Indira Devi, P
    The present study on the economics of commercial production and utilization of medicinal rice, njavara was conducted ill Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Wayanad districts, with the objective of assessing the economics of production and .. marketing prospects of njavara and documenting the Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) associated with its cultivation and use. The required information was collected from a sample of 60 njavara farmers from the above four districts by personal interview method using well structured, pre- tested questionnaire. The marketing aspects were studied by contacting producers, market intermediaries and end users, by personal in.erview method. The Indigenous Technical Knowledge were gathered from the producers, traditional vaidyas, ayurvedic medical practitioners and elderly people in the locality. The data collection was conducted during April- July 2003 . The cost of cultivation of njavara (Cost C3) was estimated as Rs.14059/hectare.The district wise analysis revealed that it was the highest for Malappuram and lowest for Palakkad, whereas in class wise analysis it was higher for • class I than class II The cost incurred on seeds was Rs.1860.87/hectare. Human labour was the highest single item of expenditure. The average labour use per hectare of njavara . cultivation was 72.50 man days/hectare. Female labour constituted a major share of total labour use. On an average it was 56.55 days/hectare during a crop cycle. Except land preparation all major activities are carried out by wemen. Post harvest operations demand the highest labour use. But, land preparation is the most expensive activity, as the wage rate for men was higher than that of the women. Nearly one fourth of the total cost was for this. Average yield from njavara crop was found to be much less than other rice varieties (1528.25 kg/hectare). It is only 70 percentage of the average yield of rice in the state. The yield in Palakkad and Malappuram districts were higher than the other two. Large farms enjoyed better yield The grain to straw yield was in the ratio of 1 :2.5. The Gross income from the crop was found to be RS.28928/ha. Farm business income, the most relevant from the farmer's' point of view was more in PaIakkad district (Rs.30416/hectare) compared to other districts. The same applies to all other income estimates. The farmers of Palakkad enjoy a net income of RS.23487/hectare while the average was Rs. 14849/hectare. The cost of production was Rs.7.68/kg.• Despite the lowest cost of cultivation, the cost of production was (at Cost Ci) highest in Wayanad (Rs.9.92/kg). The average benefit cost ratio based on cost C3was 2.03.1t was the highest for Palakkad (2.72) The marketable surplus accounted for 90.33 per cent (1380.50 kg/hectare) of the total produce and it increased with the increase in the size of holding. In the study area six major marketing channels were identified. Among this the most witlely adopted channel was I producer-s ayurvedic drug manufacturing unit (around 28 per cent). The Indigenous Technical Knowledge associated with the cultivation and use of the crop is compiled and listed.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Market behaviour of important spices of Kerala
    (Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2003) Divya, K M; KAU; Jesy Thomas, K  
    The present study on the "Market behaviour of important spices of Kerala" was aimed to examine the trends in production and export of major spices, analyze the price behaviour and to measure trade competitiveness of major spice crops in Kerala viz. pepper, cardamom, ginger and turmeric in the context of liberalized trade regime. Both primary and secondary data had been used for the study. Growth rate analysis during the entire period (1971-2000) using different growth model revealed significant and positive growth in area, production and productivity of pepper and ginger. But in the case of cardamom and turmeric growth in production and productivity was significant and positive while in area it was negative though insignificant. Variability measurement using Coppock's instability index and coefficient of variation exhibited higher variation in production compared to area and productivity in all the crops studied except cardamom where productivity variation was high. A significant positive growth was shown in export quantity and value of pepper, ginger and turmeric during the entire period. In cardamom, growth was negative in both export quantity and value. Coefficient of variation exhibited a higher variation in export value compared to export quantity in all the spices. Comparison of growth in export performance during pre and post liberalization periods indicated a higher growth 111 export quantity and value during post liberalization period except for pepper. The comparison of item wise export and import during pre \VTO (1989-1995) and post WTO period (1996-2002) in value terms indicated that pepper was the major foreign exchange earner in both the periods followed by turmeric, ginger and cardamom. In pepper products, black pepper garbled was the major exporting item with a share of 65 per cent. Export earning from spices has increased three folds during post WTO period as that of pre WTO. The item wise import of all the spices increased in post WTO period and pepper contributed major value of import whereas it was cardamom during the pre WTO period. Since India contributed 80 per cent of world trade of turmeric its import to India is very less. Price behaviour of spices was analyzed by fitting linear trend for both domestic and international prices. Variability in prices were measured using coefficient of variation by splitting the time period as pre WTO (1988-1995) and post WTO (1996-2003) period. The results showed a higher growth in international prices compared to domestic prices in cardamom, ginger and turmeric. Comparison of coefficient of variation exhibited a lower variation in prices in post WTO period except for pepper. The measurement of trade competitiveness using Nominal Protection Coefficient during pre WTO (1988-1995) and post WTO (1996-2003) periods exhibited a value of less than one during the two periods and NPC was lesser in post WTO period indicating high competitiveness in cardamom, ginger and turmeric. In the case of pepper NPC remained the same in both the periods. The study on marketing aspects of the above spices among respondent farmers in Kattappana panchayat of Idukki district revealed that most of the farmers were depending on village merchant to sell their produce even though co-operative marketing societies and auction centres were there. The immediate need for money forced the farmers to sell their produce to village merchant. The farmers did not face much difficulty in marketing their produce and the major constraint faced by them was price fluctuation. Most of the farmers were aware of the quality standards stipulated for exporting of spices and were trying to reduce the level of chemicals used. The emphasis on value addition for export promotion as well as use of organic cultivation of spices appears to be a green signal for the bright future of spice trade in India.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Production and trade competitive advantages of natural rubber in India
    (Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2003) Pradeep, U; KAU; Satees Babu, K
    The study entitled Production and Trade Competitive Advantages of Natural Rubber In India" was undertaken with the specific objective of examining the emerging trends in production, consumption, export and import of NR and the to assess the competitive advantages an disadvantages in the specific context of WTO regime. The study was conducted in the year 2001-03, using both primary and secondary data. The trend analysis using different functional forms revealed that a growth functional form was the best fit for tapped area, production and yield of natural rubber whereas the exponential function turned out to be best fit for consumption of natural rubber. An analysis of the composition pattern revealed that natural rubber is slowly replacing the synthetic rubber in the world as well as in the Indian market. The growth rate analysis of the area, tapped area, production and yield of natural rubber and reclaimed rubber revealed that their growth was highest during the sixties. It declined substantially thereafter. More instability was experienced in the production of natural rubber during the eighties and the nineties. The decomposition analysis revealed that the price effect was a major contributing factor in the growth of natural rubber output in India. There was considerable production advantage for NR producers in India with the average market price being consistently higher than the cost of production. There was no comparative advantage for natural rubber production in India for international trade as revealed by the domestic resource cost ratio. The Nominal Protection Coefficients indicated that Indian natural rubber was not enjoying trade competitive advantage in the international market. The bound rate for natural rubber is now fixed at 25 per cent instead of 100 per cent for primary agricultural commodities because it is classified as an 'industrial raw material" under the WTO agreements. No "surge in imports" consequent to the removal of quantitative restrictions in natural rubber was observed. The import as percentage to domestic production was declining over the years. The export subsidy-limiting provisions are not applicable for India till the exports reached 3.25 per cent of the world trade. However, in order to play any significant role in the international market, Indian natural rubber will have to be more competitive.