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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 Differential adoption of plant protection technology by farmers of Kerala - a critical analysis(Department Of Agricultural Extension, College Of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1995) Meera, B; KAU; Thyagarajan Nair, GIndian agriculture has undergone intensive farming with the introduction of high yielding varieties of crops. Adoption of improved technology and management practices for boosting up production of food grains have resulted in serious pest and disease complexes warranting intensive and extensive use of plant protection chemicals. A number of limitations and adverse side effects such as pest resistance to pesticides, pesticide residues, health hazards, environmental pollution and ecological imbalance have been identified recently. The components of plant protection technology were taken to study the differential adoption in important crops like paddy and vegetables by the farmers and explained the variations in their cognitive, affective and connative components of behaviour with a selected set of independent variables. The study analysed the indigenous practices of plant protection being followed by farmers and also their perception about the impact of pesticides on environmental aspects. The major constraints experienced by the farmers in the adoption of plant protection technology along with the suggestions to overcome the same were also studied. The study was undertaken in two districts of Kerala viz., Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha. A sample of 120 farmers each from the two districts was selected and the total sample size for the study was 240.The data were collected using an interview schedule and analysed using suitable statistical techniques. There was significant difference among the farmers of Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha districts with regard to their knowledge about chemical and cultural methods of plant protection. Majority of farmers of both the districts belonged to low knowledge group. The farmers of both the districts were ignorant about biological, physical and integrated methods of plant protection methods. Majority of the farmers of both the districts possessed favourable attitude towards chemical method of plant protection. The farmers of Alappuzha district were significantly higher adopters of plant protection methods than the farmers of Thiruvananthapuram district. Majority of the farmers of both the districts belonged to low perception category with regard to their perception about the utility and practicability of plant protection methods. Crops yield index and scientific orientation emerged as significant independent variables in the correlation and multiple regression analysis with regard to the farmers of both the districts. The practices, viz., controlled application of nutrients for reducing pest and disease attack in paddy and use of ‘thulsikeni’ in ‘pandals’ to trap and kill fruit flies in vegetables were judged as the most effective and scientifically rational practices adopted by farmers. The farmer’s perception about the impact of pesticides on environmental aspects was very low and majority of them belonged to low perception category. The constraint ‘untimely supply and high cost of imputs’ was the most important constraint experienced by the farmers of Thiruvananthapuram district, while ‘lack of proper drainage facilities’ was the most serious constraint experienced by the farmers of Alappuzha District. The most important suggestion given by the farmers to overcome the constraints was to ‘develop simple and more compatible plant protection technologies’ and the most important suggestion given by the experts to overcome the constraints experienced by the farmers was to ‘impart adequate training to farmers as well as extension workers on IPM practices’. The strategic model developed by integrating the salient findings of the present study, emphasized the importance of popularizing effective plant protection technology among the farmers in ecologically sensitive rice and vegetable production systems in Kerala.ThesisItem Unknown Farmer-labourer relationship in rice production systems -a case study(Department Of Agricultural Extension, College Of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1995) Ramanathan, S; KAU; Thyagarajan Nair, GThe study was undertaken with the objective of analyzing the farmer – labourer relationship in paddy production systems. The study was conducted in two districts of Kerala namely, Thiruvananthapurm and Alapuzha representing two distinctly different paddy production systems. Dyadic approach was used in the conduct of the study and altogether 150 farmer – labourer dyads were selected, 75 dyads each from the selected districts using random sampling. The farmer – labourer relationship was measured with the help of a scale developed for the study having 33 items. A pilot study was conducted for the selection of items to be included in the scale. The response for the items was obtained on a 5 point continuum with bipolar adjectives at the extreme ends as in the case of semantic differential technique. The data on farmer – labourer relationship and on 11 common variables, 7 farmer – related variables and 4 labourer – related variables were collected using a structured interview schedule. The relationship dimensions identified empirically were ‘facilitation’, ‘empathy’, ‘equity’, ‘tolerance’, ‘guidance’, ‘recognition’, ‘economic’, ‘social’ and ‘priority’. In general, a little more than half of the farmer – labourer dyads had high relationship. Like wise, in case of relationship dimensions such as facilitation, equity, tolerance, guidance, social and priority majority of the dyads came under high group. There was no significant difference between the overall relationship of the two study districts and among the three union membership categories. However, there was significant difference between the labourer categories with male labourers having significantly higher relationship than their female counterparts. The dimension – wise performance of farmer – labourer dyads on the whole was in the order of ‘tolerance’, ‘economic’, ‘empathy’, ‘recognition’, ‘social’, ‘guidance’, ‘priority’, ‘facilitation’ and ‘equity’. While there existed a vast dissimilarity in the relationship performance of dimensions of the two study districts, the two labourer categories and the three union membership categories were in agreement with regard to dimension – wise relationship performance. The socio – economic and psychological factors namely, management orientation, persuasiveness, gregariousness, education, ability to handle conflicts and labour use efficiency put together contributed significantly to the relationship of farmer – labourer dyads and explained 68 per cent of the variation in the relationship of farmer – respondents. In case of labourer – respondents, the variables participation in decision making with farmers, employment days and education were observed to be significantly contributing to the farmer – labourer relationship and explained 20 per cent of variation in the relationship.ThesisItem Open Access Interaction of psychological economic, sociological and technological determinants of the entrepreneurial behaviour of agricultural students(Department Of Agricultural Extension, College Of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1997) Seema, B; KAU; Babu, BThe study aimed to identify the factors which are conducive for the entrepreneurial behaviour of agricultural .students. The study was conducted among the students of the two Agricultural colleges of Kerala Agricultural University and the unemployed graduates who have passed out from these colleges. Two hundred and fifty respondents were selected for the main study which comprised of 100 undergraduate students, 100 postgraduate students and 50 unemployed graduates. The entrepreneurial behavior of agricultural students was measured with the help of a scale developed for the study. Based on relevancy rating twenty four independent variables were selected Data were collected through mailed, and distributed questionnaire. The maximum likelihood solution for entrepreneurial behavior extracted 12 factors About 43 per cent of the total variability in the extent of entrepreneurial behavior was accounted by twelve factors. Majority of the respondents in the undergraduate group and unemployed graduates were found to have high level of entrepreneurial behavior. Similarly majority of the male respondents were found to have high level of entrepreneurial behavior. Self esteem, sociability, innovation proneness, Self confidence, attitude towards competition, management Orientation, persuasiveness, and self reliance were found to * be significantly and positively related to entrepreneurial behaviour of undergraduate students. In the case of postgraduate students attitude towards competition, self esteem, innovation proneness, management orientation, self confidence, persuasiveness, sociability, self reliance and attitude towards self employment were found to be significantly and positively related. ■* • . As to the unemployed graduates significant positive relationship was observed between entrepreneurial behaviour and persuasiveness, management orientation, innovation proneness, self confidence and credit orientation. Sociability, self reliance, self confidence, attitude towards competition, self esteem, persuasiveness, management orientation, innovation proneness, attitude towards self employment and technical competency were found to be significantly and positively related with entrepreneurial behaviour of male students. In the case of female students, self confidence, self esteem, self reliance, attitude towards self employment, sociability, management orientation, persuasiveness, annual income, innovation proneness and attitude towards competition showed significant positive relationship with enfrepreneurial behaviour. Attitude towards self employment, innovation proneness, self confidence, credit orientation, self reliance, sociability, marks obtained in Pree-Degree, marks obtained in B Sc. and management orientation explained 36.74 per cent of the variation in entrepreneurial behaviour of undergraduate students. In the case of postgraduate students 49.19 per cent of variation in entrepreneurial behaviour was explained by attitude towards competition, self esteem, sociability, innovation proneness and O.G.P A. (work experience). Persuasiveness and innovation proneness explained 25.12 per cent of variation in entrepreneurial behaviour of unemployed graduates. » As much as 43.28 per cent of variability in entrepreneurial behaviour of male students was explained by sociability, self reliance, persuasiveness, attitude towards •self employment, O.G.P A ( work experience) management orientation, innovation proneness and attitude towards competition For variables viz., self esteem, sociability, innovation proneness and credit orientation were responsible fof 36.65 per cent of-variation in entrepreneurial behaviour of female students. Capital investment, availability of labour, availability of resource and infrastructural facilities were ranked high as factors influencing entrepreneurial behaviour of agricultural students as perceived by different category of respondents.ThesisItem Unknown Comparative analysis of characteristics of women labourers engaged in rice farming in the social systems of Kollam and Kanyakumari districts(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1996) Rajula Shanthy, T; KAU; Babu, BThe study aimed at analyzing the labour efficiency of women agricultural labourers. The study was conducted in Kollam district of Kerala and Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. A total of 300 women agricultural labourers were selected, 150 from each district using random sampling. The labour efficiency was measured with the help of a scale consisting of 32 items developed for the study. The data on the labour efficiency of women agricultural labourers and on the nineteen socio-personal and psychological characteristics of the women agricultural labourers were collected using a structured interview schedule. The dimensions of labour efficiency identified empirically were ’determination in work situation’, ‘inter – personal relationship’, ‘confidence’, ‘adjustability’, ‘team spirit’, ‘commitment’, ‘work environment’, competency, ‘socio-economic’ and ‘situational’. In general, the women agricultural labourers of both the districts were low in labour efficiency. The dimension – wise analysis of labour efficiency showed that majority of them belonged to high group under the dimensions ‘adjustability’ and ‘competency’ whereas majority had low efficiency with respect to the other dimensions. The factors influencing labour efficiency was in the order of period of employment, supervision by employer, wages and incentives provided, availability of alternative work, training of labourers, nature of tools and implements used, introduction of new machinery and progressive technology, increasing standard of living, adaptability to different tasks and physical condition of labourers. The variables namely caste, intrinsic motivation, independence, cosmopolite orientation, economic motivation, values related to agriculture, satisfaction, gregariousness, attitude towards scientific agriculture, innovativeness and alienation were found to be significantly contributing to labour efficiency. Total number of days of employment of women agricultural labourers in Kollam district was 207 (82 as agricultural and 125 as non-agricultural labour) and in Kanyakumari district it was 182 (78 as agricultural and 104 as non-agricultural labour). The peak season of employment was January – March in both the districts. There was relatively slack in employment during July – August and November –December in Kollam district and during August – September and December in Kanyakumari district. The average annual income from agricultural and non-agricultural labour was Rs. 3610.00 and Rs. 5447.50 in Kollam district, whereas it was Rs. 2695.00 and Rs. 3327.50 in Kanyakumari district respectively.ThesisItem Unknown Entrepreneurial behaviour of agri-business operators in Kerala(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1998) Senthil Vinayagam, S; KAU; Geethakutty, P SA study was conducted with the main objectives of developing index for measuring entrepreneurial behaviour and agri-business performance and identifying influence of behavioural and situational characteristics on entrepreneurial behaviour. The study was undertaken in Central NARP zone of Kerala, covering 240 agri-business operators. The agri-business operators were categorised into three groups viz., commercial farmers, on-farm and off-farm agri-business operators with 120, 60, 60 as sample size respectively. Entrepreneurial behaviour formed the dependent variable for the study. Agri-business performance was selected as criterion variable. Nineteen independent variables were selected in relation to the objectives based on review of literature and pilot study. Correlation analysis, principal component analysis and factor analysis were employed for data analysis and interpretation. Ten dimensions were identified and used to develop entrepreneurial behaviour index. Factor analysis revealed that innovation proneness, achievement motivation, risk orientation, economic motivation, management orientation and personal efficacy were the important dimensions to measure entrepreneurial behaviour which can be grouped into a single factor termed 'entrepreneurial behaviour efficiency' . Agri-business performance was measured usmg the indicators VIZ., capacity utilisation, hired labour, cost-benefit ratio, perceived profitability, labour relationship, extent of diversification and social contribution from enterprise. Majority of the respondents exhibited moderate to very high entrepreneurial behaviour, whereas they had high to very high agri-business performance. Comparison of the three categories of respondents revealed that there was no difference among them with respect to both entrepreneurial behaviour and agri-business performance. Age, age at entry, scientific orientation, vocational diversification, self confidence, self concept, orientation towards competition, rational orientation, self:' reliance and media utilisation emerged as most important variables in predicting the variation in entrepreneurial behaviour of agri-business operators. High rate of interest, seasonality of demand, high cost of raw material, scarcity of electric power, high labour cost, ineffective consultancy service provided by the government agencies were the major constraints perceived by agri-business operators in influencing the entrepreneurial behaviour. The study established the relationship between entrepreneurial behaviour and agri-business performance which brings out the need and importance for organising Entrepreneurship Development Programme for farmer entrepreneurs.ThesisItem Unknown Work motivation- a multivariate analysis among teachers of the Kerala Agricultural University(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1996) alexander, George; KAU; Bhaskaran, CWork motivation, the inner urge that energises, directs and sustains work, was the dependent variable while the independent structure consisted of eighteen variables: Locus of control, achievement motive, power motive, affiliation motive, equity- sensitivity, growth need, relatedness need, existence need, preferred organizational culture, variety in job, identity of job, significance of job, autonomy in job, feedback through job, work climate, communication patterns, management style and morale. The sample of 150 teachers constituted 21.6 per cent of the total population of teachers in the Kerala Agricultural University. Distribution of teachers with respect to the variables mentioned above, relationships between the variables and determinants of work motivation were studied. Cadre-wise comparison of teachers was undertaken and teachers in teaching, research and extension institutions were also compared using ANOVA. All independent variables studied had strong correlations with work motivation. The relationship of affiliation motive preferred organizational culture and equity- sensitivity with work motivation was negative. Bunch-map analysis was used to confront the problem of multicollinearity and identify the determinants of work motivation: affiliation motive, existence need and identity of job. The study proposes a cohesive and unifying model to explain work motivation. Relevance of work motivation theories and practices with reference to the Indian socio-cultural context and applicability of existing models to educational and service sector organizations are discussed. Recommendations are made for the design and dynamics of human resource management practices applicable to the around 30,000 agricultural scientists in the country.ThesisItem Open Access Analysis of the management for sustainable Agriculture by the farmers of Kerala(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1995) Jayasree, Krishnankutty; KAU; Prasad, R MThe study was conducted with the main objectives of analyzing the concept and dimensions of sustainable agriculture and the extent of knowledge, attitude and adoption of sustainable agricultural practices by the farmers of Kerala and also the factors affecting them. The study was undertaken in Thrissur District of Kerala State covering 270 farmers selected using multi – stage random sampling procedure. Besides farmers, 25 agricultural scientists, 25 agricultural extension personnel and 25 progressive farmers were also selected to analyse the perception about the concept and dimensions of sustainable agriculture. The dependent variables selected for the study were knowledge about sustainable agriculture, attitude towards sustainable agriculture and extent of adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. Fifteen independent variables were selected in relation to the objectives and based on review of literature and pilot study. Correlation analysis multiple regression analysis, step down regression analysis, and path analysis were employed for data analysis and interpretation. It was deducted from the study that a farming system can be called sustainable when it meets the product demand for which it is intended, can maintain the productivity without depleting the natural resource base, is not harmful to the environment, is economically viable, suited to the local conditions in all aspects and can be expanded without any deleterious effects in case of increased future demand. Six dimensions were identified as important for sustainable agriculture and they were resource use efficiency, environmental soundness, economic viability, technological appropriateness, economic feasibility and local adaptability. Content analysis of the various schemes implemented by the three development departments of the State revealed that the extent of inclusion of the components of sustainable agriculture in the development programmes is only less than 25 per cent. Majority of the respondents were in the medium category with respect to knowledge, attitude and extent of adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. Education, income from agriculture, exposure to interpersonal sources, perception about availability of sustainable agricultural techniques, perception about price of inputs and extension contact were found significant in predicting the variation in knowledge of farmers about sustainable agriculture. Exposure to interpersonal sources, perception about availability of sustainable agricultural techniques and perception about price of agricultural produce had significant contribution towards the variation in attitude of farmers towards sustainable agriculture. Farming experience, income from agriculture, exposure to interpersonal sources, perception about availability of sustainable agricultural techniques and extension contact were found to have significant contribution towards the extent of adoption of sustainable agricultural practices by the farmers. Apprehension about fall in profit margin, high cost of labour, lack of information about sustainable agricultural practices, acute shortage in the availability of organic inputs, shortage in labour availability and lack of easy availability of many of the sustainable agricultural practices were the major constraints in adoption of sustainable agricultural practices as expressed by farmers.ThesisItem Unknown Consequences of conversion of marginal homesteads for planting rubber in Kottayam district(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1997) Latha, A; KAU; Ranjan S, KarippaiA study was conducted in Kottayam district to find out the causes and consequences with respect to the nature, extent and conversion (composite index developed from nature and extent) of marginal homesteads for planting rubber. The respondents included 200 convertors and 100 non-convertors. The study revealed that outmigration of hired labour, availability of hired labour, farming experience and perception about attributes of rubber cultivation could explain the maximum discrimination between convertors and non-convertors. Among the eighteen independent variables selected, availability of family labour and number of crops emerged as the most important factors influencing conversion. Gross cropped area and number of crops could explain the maximum variability of conversion. Net area under rubber was the factor which exerted maximum influence on other variables effecting conversion. The most important consequences of conversion expressed by convertors were outmigration of hired labour, outmigration of family labour, soil loss (erosion) based on magnitude and decrease in water availability, increase in social status and decrease in water table based on directionality. Community based land use strategy which involved production and sharing of farm produce among groups of individual homesteads based on similarity of topography, soil type, water resource dependence, local needs may become inevitable to sustain and maintain the diverse requirements of local communities in place of conversion of homesteads to monocrops like rubber alone. Rubber could only become a part of such land use systems.
