: The lack of a research centre under the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) in Kozhikode is proving to be a “serious handicap” at a time when there is increasing demand for quality planting materials, including vegetable seeds and saplings.
As per data available from university sources, Kozhikode is the only district in the State without a research station for the university. An ‘Information-cum-Sales Centre’ functioning in a crammed two-room rented facility at Vellimadukunnu here is the sole institution under the university here. This is in stark contrast to the 60 different institutions, including research stations and other institutes functioning under the university, in Thrissur district alone. Thiruvananthapuram also has around a dozen such institutes, as per the data.
Various farmers’ groups and people’s representatives have repeatedly demanded the setting up of a research station in Kozhikode, which has a large farming community, especially in the rural agricultural belts like Balussery, Thamarassery, Koodaranji, Peruvayal and Mukkom. “We have been raising this demand for the last several years, but in vain,” said Babu Parambath, leader of a farmers’ collective here.
High demandAccording to sources at the university’s Information-cum-Sales Centre here, there is high demand for planting materials from farmers. “The limited numbers of planting materials we bring from other stations in the neighbouring district are sold off the very next day. Besides, we have only a small room for three staff members to sit and store the entire materials,” said a staff member.
Though steps were taken two years ago to make around five acres of land available for a KAU research centre from the 26 acres of land with the Agriculture Department at Vengeri here, no follow-up was taken by the authorities concerned. “The land adjacent to the Vengeri Agricultural Wholesale Market here is ideal for a research station, but it should come as part of a master plan and not as an isolated entity,” said A. Pradeepkumar MLA, who had brought the issue to the Minister’s attention earlier.
