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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 Statistics and Informatics × Author: Allahad, Mishra × Author: KAU × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Spatial and temporal variations in the development of agriculture in Kerala
    (Department of Agricultural Statistics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2002) Allahad, Mishra; KAU; Ajitha, T K
    Agricultural scenario of Kerala is unique as compared to other states of India. The present study entitled "Spatial and temporal variations in the development of agriculture in Kerala" was undertaken mainly with an objective of constructing composite indices to quantify the development of agriculture based on suitable indicator variables for each district or region of Kerala. The significance of the districtwise and temporal disparities in agricultural development have been studied. The agricultural growth with respect to acreage and gross production of major crops • is also estimated using different growth curves. The time series data from 1970-71 to 1997-98 collected from State Planning Board and Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Kerala, Trivandrum were used for the study. As all the districts were not present before 1985-86 state was divided into several regions. Districts wise analysis was carried out from 1985-86 to 1997-98, whereas region wise analysis was carried out from 1970-71 to 1997-98. For measuring the diversification level of districts or regions five indices viz., Herfindahl Index, Entropy Index, Modified Entropy Index, Composite Entropy Index and Ogive Index were computed. All the quantitative indices were constructed by using the total cropped area of seven major crops of Kerala. It was found that in most of the periods the diversification in cropping pattern was mainly towards plantation crops. The most diversified district was Kollam, where the cropping pattern had equal importance to all the major crops. Based on the real situation, out of the five measures of diversification Composite Entropy Index was found to be better suited. It was also noticed that as time progressed the diversification level among the districts or regions decreased. The Compound growth rates of both production and acreage were computed and it was found that rubber recorded the highest C.G.R. The food crops viz., rice and tapioca showed negative C.G.R whereas cash crops viz., coconut and pepper showed positive C.G.R for both production and acreage. Productivity index were constructed for each district taking into consideration the variety of crops and their relative importance in a particular district. The results revealed that different districts behaved differently with respect to the rate of growth of productivity. Development is a multidimensional process, so instead of analysing a single variable, composite index or development index for different districts or regions were computed by using several indicators, which contributed to the development of agriculture. In the present study three methods were used to compute the development index based on seven indicators. In the first approach i.e. Taxonomic approach during 1985-86, 1990-91 and 1995-96 Emakulam occupied the first place in agriculture development. However, Wayanad and Kasargode were the two least agriculturally developed districts during the above said periods. It was also observed that there was hardly any change in the level of development of agriculture over different periods of study. In Taxonomic approach each variable was considered to have equal contribution towards the development of agriculture. However, it is unlikely to happen so. With this fact, the Taxonomic approach was modified in Modified Taxonomic approach by giving separate weightage to the indicators based on the score given by experts. In the present study separate weightage did not have any significant impact on the classification of districts or regions on their agricultural development status. Obviously the selected variables might be highly correlated. Characteristics in biological experiment are highly correlated. In the present study Principal Component analysis was used to overcome this problem. The first component of both district wise and region wise analysis contributed around 99.5 per cent of total variation. Therefore, without loosing any information supplied by the seven variables, the first component score was taken as the composite index of development. Hence in the present context Principal Component analysis could be considered as the best method, as no approximation is involved. It could be considered as a more comprehensive method. The Potential targets for the under developed districts or regions are also estimated to assess the position of those districts or regions compared to the model • districts or regions. Accordingly suitable development programmes can be launched or special care can be taken to allocate resources optimally on per capita basis to reduce spatial disparities in development.