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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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  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Perception of empowerment by the members of women self-help groups in goat farming in Thrissur district
    (Department of Extension, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, 2005) Kavitha, V; KAU; Jiji, R S
    The objectives of the study were to analyse the members’ perception of empowerment through participation in women SHGs, to explore the members’ perception of effectiveness of functioning of their own groups and to analyse the opportunities and threats associated with empowerment through microfinance in goat farming as perceived by the members. Among the members of SHGs engaged in goat farming for atleast one year, operating under Kudumbashree in Thrissur district, 150 members were selected through proportionate stratified random sampling. The data were collected through structured questionnaire and interviews. Three-fourth of the respondents had medium knowledge of goat farming and almost two-third had highly favourable attitude towards group activity. As for the members’ perception of empowerment, more than half of the respondents were in the medium category. The respondents had the strongest perception of being empowered in the psychological aspects. About the members’ perception of effectiveness of group functioning, more than three-fourth of the respondents fell in the medium category. The functioning of the group in terms of quality of official procedures was perceived as most effective by the members. Opportunity to earn income was perceived by more than half of the respondents, whereas, lack of cooperation from family members was perceived as the most serious threat. Intercorrelations of perception of empowerment, perception of effectiveness of group functioning, knowledge of goat farming and attitude towards group activity were worked out using Kendall’s tau-b rank order correlation. Significant positive correlation was observed between perception of effectiveness of group functioning and attitude towards group activity. The members’ perception of empowerment had significant negative correlation with their knowledge of goat farming. A significant negative relationship was found between the members’ perception of empowerment and the herd size of goats maintained by them. The perception of empowerment of the respondents having previous training exposure was higher than those with no training exposure. Also, the perception of empowerment of the illiterate members was higher than that of literate members.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Determinants of the awareness of rabies and adoption of control measures among the dog owners of thrissur district
    (Department of Extension, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, 2008) Soja, Augustin; KAU; Rajkamal, P J
    Determinants of the general awareness of rabies and adoption of control measures among the dog owners of Thrissur district of Kerala were studied. Dog owners’ general awareness of rabies and its control measures transcending all the domains viz. etiology and spread, symptoms, and control measures of rabies indicated that those of medium awareness predominated across all the three regions- hilly, coastal and plains. Significant regional differences were observed on general awareness of rabies and control measures. Dog owners of hilly and coastal regions as compared to plains comparatively lagged behind on general awareness and control measures. Formal education, media exposure and attitude towards humane dog rearing were associated with general awareness of rabies and its control. Regarding practice adoption of rabies control measures, there were more number of medium level adopters followed by low and high level adopters in that order. Majority of dog owners preferred to be medium level adopters of control measures in future also. Besides, there was a regional difference on the adoption of rabies control measures. Coastal region was behind even the hilly region in this regard. An association was found between general awareness and adoption of control measures. Further formal education, income and attitude towards humane dog rearing were associated with practice adoption of control measures of rabies. A large majority of dog owners obtained information on rabies from print media followed by electronic, cosmopolite and localite channels. Only a negligible percentage of dog owners had attended any seminar or workshop on rabies. A large percentage of dog owners of hilly region believed that ARV is unnecessary. Dog owners’ attitude towards humane dog rearing was predominantly neutral or ambivalent. Attitude towards humane dog rearing was found to be a decisive factor in explaining the variability in general awareness of rabies and its control.