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
5 results
Search Results
ThesisItem Open Access Farming among the Attappady tribes of Kerala: a livelihood analysis(Department of Agriculture Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2020) Sachana, P C; KAU; Binoo Bonny, BKerala has achieved remarkable improvement in the social sector, celebrated as ‘Kerala Model of Development’. But it is observed that the development process fell short to encompass tribal communities in the course. Majority of the tribes in Kerala continue to depend on agriculture and are struggling to compete with the current situational threats like climate change and wild animal menace. Moreover, the commercial exploitation of forest resources has resulted in extensive soil erosion and loss of soil fertility. Therefore, sustaining crop production and productivity without damaging the resources and environment are posing big challenge to the tribal farming. This threatened the livelihood of the tribal community which depended on agriculture and forest, forcing them to be bonded and migrant labour (Patidar et al. 2018). Attappady tribal development block of Palakkad district is one of the 43 tribal development blocks in India and is inhabited by three tribal communities viz., Irulas, Mudugas and Kurumbas. Delineation of the factors influencing the selection of farming techniques and strategies among tribal farmers were studied and data collected was analysed using factor analysis to delineate the factors. Agricultural technology and input services, policy, knowledge and information support, infrastructure, weather & technological constraints, farm management and market orientation and access to extension services were found to be the factors determining for the selection of farming strategy and agricultural technologies. Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) was used to measure the dietary diversity and was found to be relatively very low compared to the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA). The tribal diets were found to be grossly deficient in calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, riboflavin and animal protein. Community kitchen based on food aids that functioned in the respective tribal hamlets (ooru) played a significant role in maintaining the food security of the community. Simpson crop diversity index used to measure the cop diversity in areas where Millet village programme implemented. Majority of 68.3 and 16.7 per cent of the households belonged to categories with high and very high crop diversity indices. Food security status of Attappady tribes was measured using Food Security Index (FSI) based on the parameters of availability, accessibility, utilization and stability. Eight per cent of the tribes recorded very low food security (FSI 0.01-0.20), another 46.7 per cent of the tribes belonged to low food security status with FSI values between 0.21 and 0.40. However, there were 33.3 and 12 per cent of them respectively in medium and very high food security categories. Livelihood security assessment was done using Livelihood Asset Pentagon (FAO, 2008) based on the five core assets viz. natural, social, human, physical and financial capital. Livelihood status of tribes of Agali panchayath on the selected dimensions and also the overall score indicated low Financial Capital Index (FCI) scores of 35.91 for the region. It could also be observed that on all other dimensions, the panchayat had moderate scores with Social Capital Index (SCI) of 59.52, Human Capital Index (HCI) of 62.27, Physical Capital Index (PCI)of 65.00 and Natural Capital Index(NCI) of 66.35. Overall Livelihood Security Index for the Agali panchayat was at 57.81. Livelihood status of tribes of Pudur panchayath on the selected core dimensions indicated comparitively low scores on all the selected dimensions with lowest scores for social capital (16.88), Financial Capital Index (FCI) of 47.00, Human Capital Index (HCI) of 45.14, Physical Capital Index (PCI)of 57.75 and Natural Capital Index(NCI) of 50.96. The overall Livelihood Security Index (LSI) for the panchayat was only 43.55. In the case of Sholayur panchayat very low Social Capital Index (SCI) of 21.63, Financial Capital Index (FCI) of 40.57, Human Capital Index (HCI) of 48.45, Physical Capital Index (PCI) of 62.93 and Natural Capital Index (NCI) of 52.95. The overall Livelihood Security Index (LSI) for the area was 45.31. The livelihood status of tribes of Attappady tribal development block on the selected core dimensions indicated comparitively low scores on all the selected dimensions with lowest scores for social capital (32.68). The area also had very moderate scores on Financial Capital Index (FCI) of 41.16, Human Capital Index (HCI) of 51.95, Physical Capital Index (PCI)of 61.89 and Natural Capital Index(NCI) of 56.75. The overall Livelihood Security Index (LSI) for the block was only 48.89.ThesisItem Open Access Indicators of sustainable agricultural development: a multi-variable analysis among self help groups of "kudumbashree mission" in Thiruvananthapuram district.(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, vellayani, 2016) Chinchu, V S; KAU; Padmanabhan, V BThe study entitled “Indicators of sustainable agricultural development: A multi-variate analysis among self-help groups of “Kudumbashree Mission” in Thiruvananthapuram district” was undertaken with the specific objective of critically analyzing the extent of attainment of the three pillars of sustainable development, namely, economic development, social develop¬ment and environmental protection by the agricultural activities of the self-help groups under Kudumbashree Mission in the study area and to identify the constraints and formulate a strategy for increasing the effectiveness of the programme. Exploratory or Formulative Research Design was employed for the study. The sustainability was studied among 40 agriculturally active SHGs. Profile characteristics of 200 women farmers were also studied. The study was undertaken in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state. Out of the 12 development blocks in the district, five blocks were randomly selected, namely, Parassala, Perumkadavila, Nemom, Nedumangad and Vellanad. From each of the blocks, one agriculturally active Community Development Society (CDS) was purposively selected, namely, Kunnathukal, Karode, Malayinkeezhu, Karakulam and Kattakkada. There were two categories of respondents for the study. Two hundred number of SHG-based farm women formed the first category of respondents and 40 number of agriculturally active SHGs formed the second category of respondents. From each of the Community Development Society, 40 number of agriculturally active and SHG-based farm women were randomly selected. These added upto 200 individual respondents. Eight agriculturally active SHGs were also randomly selected from each of the five Community Development Societies and these added upto 40 SHGs. Fourteen variables were used to study the individual SHG members. ANOVA was done where ever possible to find out if there existed any difference between each of the five sample CDSs for any particular variable. Seventeen independent variables related to SHGs were also studied. An index namely, Sustainable Agricultural Development Index (SADI) was developed as part of the study for exclusively measuring the sustainability of group farming by the women groups. The index covered eighteen variables related to the economic, social and environmental aspects of group farming. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was also done using the software SAS 9.3 to find out the relative importance of each of the indicators and sub-indicators towards the sustainability of group farming. The strengths, weaknesses, potentials and challenges of SHG-based farming were also found out using SWPC analysis. The constraints faced by both individual SHG members as well as the groups as such were found out and ranked. Finally the suggestions for improvement of SHG-based farming and suggested lines of future research were also spelt out based on the results of the study and the on-field experiences of the researcher. The study could find out that majority of the sample SHG-based women were of middle aged and were having nuclear families and secondary education. They were engaged in some income generating activities other than agriculture. They had good experience in both SHG based activities and in agricultural activities. Krishibhavan was found to be the most prominent information source for those women. The SHG-based women were found to possess a good level of self confidence, innovativeness, scientific orientation, achievement motivation, economic motivation and risk orientation. It was observed that as they grew older, both SHG experience and farming experience increased but their level of innovativeness went on decreasing. Regarding the SHGs, the study revealed that their mean size was 4.33 and had a mixed population of BPL members, APL members, general category members, OBC members and SC/ST members. Invariably all the sample SHGs were cultivating banana and 70 per cent of the groups were cultivating two or more crops. Also 70 per cent of the groups had availed loans with a mean amount of Rs. 1,40,714. As high as 95 per cent of the groups used to hire external labour especially for initial land preparation. The mean area cultivated by a sample SHG was found to be 190.53 cents. On economic front, all the groups were found to have a high degree of economic motivation. The BC ratio of majority of the groups was found to be medium. Eighty per cent of the groups showed an increase in their income over the previous year and also could generate a good number of day’s employment in agricultural sector. As the area cultivated had increased, addition in the income and employment generation were also found to increase. The study elucidated area cultivated (AC) and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) as the most important sub-indicators of economic development. On social front, the study revealed that majority of the groups were possessing a high transparency, equity, leadership, cohesiveness, accountability, team spirit and co-operation with ‘team spirit’ followed by ‘equity’ as the most important sub-indicators of social sustainability of Kudumbashree SHGs. Regarding environmental protection, ‘adoption of soil conservation measures’ and ‘avoidance of chemical fertilizers’ were found to be the most important sub-indicators affecting environmental sustainability. A quarter of the Kudumbashree groups were found to follow organic farming, around 20 per cent followed strict chemical-based modern agriculture and the rest followed a middle path between organic farming and modern agriculture. The Sustainable Agricultural Development Index (SADI) for the studied sample was found to be 0.69. It could be concluded that though the agriculturally active Kudumbashree SHGs in the study area had reasonable economic sustainability and social sustainability, their performance in environmental protection was a bit lower and only if they strengthen this weak link, they can become truly sustainable. Crop loss due to pests, diseases, wild animals and other climatic factors was the foremost constraint expressed by the respondents of the study. The study recommends establishment of ‘Woman Farmer Producer Companies’ (WFPC) at taluk level under the direct control of the respective District Missions or adoption of ‘Anand Pattern Co-operative Method’ as two viable strategies for improving the sustainability of agricultural activities performed under Kudumbashree mission.ThesisItem Open Access Organic farming as a strategy for climate change adaptation - an exploratory study(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculturture, Vellayani, 2018) Sangeetha, K G; KAU; Sheiref, A KThe study entitled “Organic farming as a strategy for climate change adaptation – An exploratory study” was carried out with the objectives to analyze the integrated adaptive capacity of organic farmers in comparison with conventional farmers through the development of a measurement tool, namely, Integrated Adaptive Capacity Index; to create a database of the certified organic farmers of Kerala and to explore the personal, socio-economic and psychological characteristics of the farmers and the agro-ecological characteristics of their farms for formulating a workable climate change adaptation strategy. The database of certified organic farmers in Kerala was prepared by collecting the information from the list of accredited certifying agencies in Kerala and PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) of India. The respondents were selected from the agro-ecological units having maximum number of certified organic farmers, namely, AEU9 - South central laterites and AEU11- Northern laterites and minimum number of certified organic farmers namely, AEU 1- Southern coastal plain and AEU13- Northern foot hills. Developing an index for measuring the Integrated Adaptive Capacity (IAC) of the farmers was one of the major achievements of the study. For that, the factors contributing to the Integrative Adaptive Capacity were identified as: socio- economic, technological, agricultural, managerial, bio-physical and ecological. Each factor of the adaptive capacity index was measured by summing up the scores of indicators delineated through pilot study, expert opinion and judges’ relevancy rating. The Integrated Adaptive Capacity (IAC) index was calculated as the composite measure of these six factors. The comparison of the mean scores of IAC index of organic (81.05) and conventional farmers (46.35) clearly indicated that there exists a significant difference between the two groups and the organic farmers were found to be more adaptive. The IAC index-based analysis revealed that majority (62%) of the organic farmers are of high adaptive capacity where as majority of the conventional farmers (56.1%) belonged to moderate adaptive capacity. The AE Unit wise comparison revealed that the farmers of South central laterites exhibited the highest IAC index, followed by the farmers of Southern coastal plain, Northern foothills and Northern laterites. Among the six IAC factors, socio- economic factor was found to be the most contributing followed by technological, agricultural, managerial, bio-physical and ecological. All these factors were found to be positively and significantly correlated with the IAC Index. The analysis of personal, socio-economic and psychological characteristics indicated that majority of the farmers of the survey area belonged to middle aged category, medium level of annual income and possessed an area of 1 to 5 acres of land. Majority of the farmers were studied up to high school level with high farming experience and farming commitment. Most of the respondents were having medium level of mass media exposure, closeness with agricultural support system and self confidence. Majority of the farmers were found to have a low level of socio-political participation. The results indicated a positive and significant correlation between the integrated adaptive capacity index and the profile characteristics of the farmers except age. The major constraints as perceived by the farmers were: marketing problems (72.17%), lack of timely weather forecasts and its access to farmers (71.5%), risk due to uncertain weather parameters (69.77), inadequate storage and transportation facilities (64.54%), high cost of inputs (57.85%), inadequate labour availability (55.18%), inadequate input supply (48.93%), non- availability of organic inputs (48.55), inadequate institutional support (43.7%), lack of timely dissemination of appropriate technology (40.77%), lack of need based training programmes (40.53%), inadequate infrastructural facilities (40.13%) and lack of farmer participatory research (34.24%). Based on the study a workable climate change adaptation strategy is proposed at different levels such as: Farmer, Extension delivery system, Research and Government. The major strategies at farmer level included: adopting locally- relevant climate-smart agricultural practices, changing cropping pattern according to seasonal/ climatic variability/changes, application of organic inputs, insitu- resource utilization etc. The major strategies at extension delivery system level included: encourage rain water harvesting and recharging measures, making the farmer aware about the bio-physical resources of the farm, support livelihood diversification, promoting crop insurance, etc. The major strategies at research level included: Identify technologies with mitigation and adaptation synergies, developing climate resilient varieties, development of technologies to improve water productivity and water use efficiency, innovative technologies for value addition of agricultural products, undertaking researches related to climate change and adaptation/mitigation, etc. The major strategies at government level included: providing additional access to credit and saving mechanisms, establishing efficient transporting and marketing facilities avoiding middle men for getting reasonable income to the farmers, encourage education on how to reduce their emissions, awareness programmes for reducing GHG emission, carbon sequestration etc., disaster risk reduction and climate change in schools and farmer/worker organisations, provide funding for climate adaptation activities and research, etc. A comparison of the agro ecological profile of the farmers with highest IAC index indicated that organic farmers had better adaptation capacity for coping up with climate change. Thus, from the study it is concluded that, organic farming can be considered as one of the climate change adaptation strategies, as it optimally combines different practices in a systematic manner using limited resources, along with additional benefits of biodiversity and environmental services, leading to safe food production and sustainable livelihood support.ThesisItem Open Access Performance effectiveness of technology dissemination system of state department of agriculture in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh: a comparative analysis(Department of Agricultural Extension College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2018) Modem Ravikishore; Seema BThe present study entitled ‘Performance effectiveness of technology dissemination system of State Department of Agriculture in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh: A comparative analysis’ was conducted in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh states during 2014-2017 covering 200 extension professionals and 100 farmers form both the states with equal proportions. Agricultural extension workers of State Department of Agriculture are personnel who are responsible for meeting the goals of extension system. Evaluation of the success of extension delivery programmes, in most cases, has focused on performance effectiveness of extension personnel of State Department of Agriculture. However, the effectiveness and efficiency with which extension personnel deliver extension services cannot be over looked as this may in fact be a greater reason for success or failure of extension programmes. This necessitates the present study with the objective of assessing and comparing performance effectiveness of State Department of Agriculture in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh vis-a-vis technology dissemination system. Comparative analysis of technology dissemination systems of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh would allow inter-scalability of technologies. The findings demonstrated that most of the extension professionals with respect to Kerala as well as Andhra Pradesh states have moderately favorable attitudes towards technology dissemination system of State Department of Agriculture (SDA). Comparative analysis of attitude among Kerala and Andhra Pradesh extension personnel have shown that there was significant difference towards State Department of Agriculture. Attitude of Kerala extension professionals was influenced by the factors age, experience, training and organizational commitment. Attitude of Andhra Pradesh extension personnel was influenced by the factors training, organizational commitment, perceived workload, job satisfaction and achievement motivation. Performance effectiveness index of technology dissemination system of State Department of Agriculture (SDA) was devised and measured in three components namely: Human effectiveness component, Dissemination system component and Organisational effectiveness component and the results revealed that majority of the extension personnel with respect to Kerala as well as Andhra Pradesh, performance effectiveness index was medium. Comparative analysis of Performance effectiveness index of technology dissemination system of State Department of Agriculture (SDA) among Kerala and Andhra Pradesh extension personnel have shown that there was significant difference. Performance effectiveness index of Kerala extension professionals was influenced by the factors like experience, training, job satisfaction, participation efficiency and achievement motivation. Performance effectiveness index of Andhra Pradesh extension professionals was influenced by the factors like experience, training, organizational commitment, innovation proneness and participation efficiency. The study also revealed that most of the farmers with respect to Kerala as well as Andhra Pradesh states, perceived that technology dissemination system of State Departments of Agriculture (SDA) was moderately favourable. Comparative analysis of farmers’ perception towards technology dissemination system of State Department of Agriculture (SDA) among Kerala and Andhra Pradesh states have shown that there was significant difference. The findings also demonstrated that most of the respondents with respect to Kerala as well as Andhra Pradesh states, belonged to middle age category, comprising medium experience; attended very high number of trainings. It was also found that most of the respondents from both states having normative commitment with no significant difference. Perceived workload, job satisfaction and decision making ability of the respondents from both states was medium with significant difference. Achievement motivation and innovation proneness of the respondents from both states was medium with no significant difference. Hence, the study assessed and compared the performance effectiveness of technology dissemination system of State Department of Agriculture (SDA) in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh by developing performance effectiveness index which also revealed that there was significant difference in their performance with clearly depicted constraints and suggestions from both the states.ThesisItem Open Access Agricultural information support service vis-a-vis kisan call centre: a performance auditing(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2016) Shely Mary, Koshy; KAU; Kishore Kumar, NThe present study “Agricultural information support service vis-à-vis Kisan Call Centre: A Performance auditing” was undertaken with the objective to conduct a performance audit of Kisan Call Centre (KCC) aimed at suggesting performance improvement of agricultural advisory services, to delineate, categorize and document the constraints and solutions in imparting agricultural advisory service through KCC and to develop an efficiency index that can be used for the further analysis of KCC. Besides the study also aimed to find out the awareness of farmers on KCC and its service, and the utilization and satisfaction derived out of the KCC, which would throw light on the performance/ lacunae in the KCC service with the reasons thereof to stream line the KCC for improved effectiveness. There were two categories of respondents. One hundred and fifty farmers were selected from south, central and north zones of Kerala using random sampling for studying the awareness of farmers on KCC and 150 farmers were selected purposefully from the data base of KCC for studying the utilization of KCC. Total there were 300 respondents. The strength of KCC was found to be its free sixteen hour seven days a week service provided by the dedicated staff. The weakness in the functioning of KCC included its lack of agricultural graduates at the time of study, lack of field experience by the staff and lack of knowledge on other areas apart from agriculture. The opportunities that KCC could make use were the new social media platforms like Whats App and video conferencing facility. The challenges faced by KCC were the low call rates, providing solutions without actually seeing the problem and sending the crop messages to those farmers who do not need them. The benchmarking study to evaluate the performance of KCC revealed that KCC matched to the standards set by the International Finance Corporation (2010) except for the service level standard (where 80 per cent of calls needs to be answered within 20 seconds) which was 30 seconds for KCC and agent attrition standard (measure of staff turnover annually should only be 15 per cent) which was 80 per cent. The out-come oriented study that measured the satisfaction of the respondents showed that the respondents had fairly high level of satisfaction towards the KCC service. Sixty nine percent of the respondents opined that KCC had medium level of efficiency. The Efficiency index was calculated with nine indices such as understandability, completeness, knowledge gain, accuracy, reliability, timeliness, practicality, flexibility and connectivity. Understandability was rated as the most efficient quality (78 per cent) with regard to the working of KCC and connectivity was the least efficient quality (62.17 per cent) of KCC. The major constraint faced by the respondents was lack of connectivity of the calls and the least faced constraint by the respondents was the lack of mobile phone/ telephones. The call centre agent‟s constraints were the difficulty in understanding the local dialect, the names of the crops in different region and the difficulty to understand the queries when there was a connectivity problem. The constraints faced by the farmers as perceived by the agricultural officers were the illiteracy, the long wait to get connected to the call centre when the lines were busy and the lack of availability of suggested inputs in the nearby shops. The suggestions to improve the working of KCC by the farmers includes to initiate a call back facility (83 per cent), to transfer the calls to the second tier through call conferencing (77 per cent), to suggest organic way of fighting pest and diseases (75 per cent), to provide information on the shops where the suggested inputs were available in their respective area (70 per cent), to open their service branches in each district (70 per cent), to provide quickest, easiest and practical solutions to solve the farm problems (65 per cent) and to continue the messages through mobile phones (63 per cent). The agricultural officer‟s opinion to improve KCC services was to appoint Post graduates in agriculture who are having more knowledge in their respective field, to provide field level training to the call centre agents, to send Malayalam messages in a format that would be compatible in any type of mobile phones. A facility for sending the photos of pest and diseases by the farmers were also suggested by both agricultural officers and call centre agents for better agro advisory service. Among the three states Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Karnataka received the maximum number of average calls (13854 calls) followed by Tamil Nadu (9632 calls) and Kerala (1219 calls). The average calls received were maximum during the month of November for Karnataka and Kerala and least during the month of May. Tamil Nadu received the maximum number of calls during the month of January and least during the month of September. In the study the independent variables temporal awareness on KCC, satisfaction towards KCC, utilization of KCC, adoption of advices and peer group contact were found to have positive correlation and extension agency contact, experience in internet use, information source utilization and constraints were found to have negative correlation with the dependent variable efficiency of KCC. The variables digital divide, temporal awareness on KCC, satisfaction and utilization of KCC were found to have positive correlation and constraint in using KCC was found to have negative correlation on the attitude of respondents towards KCC. Satisfaction was the variable that contributed maximum direct effect towards the efficiency as well as attitude towards KCC. The study revealed that in order to increase the utilization of KCC by the farming community there requires a parallel mode of communication along with the increased advertisements through various mass medias, that is the extension personnel should encourage and pursue the farmers to utilize the service by convincing them the benefits of using the service.
