Agriculture Minister P. Prasad has emphasised that agricultural land must remain with farmers to ensure food security. The Minister was speaking after inaugurating the 54th Foundation Day celebration of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) at the KAU Central Auditorium, Vellanikkara. He announced that a new law would be introduced in the current legislative session to make cultivable land available to farmers for agriculture.
The Minister highlighted the challenge of ensuring adequate food production for the growing population, addressing global issues such as rising food demand, declining agricultural land, and greenhouse gas emissions. He urged the university to conduct research on these critical issues.
Additionally, he stressed the need for measures to reduce post-harvest losses, which amount to over ₹1,500 crore annually. The government aims to promote secondary agriculture alongside primary farming. As part of this initiative, the “One Value-Added Product from Every Krishi Bhavan” scheme has been launched.
‘Professor of Practice’
The Minister announced that Padma awardee Cheruvayal Raman, a renowned rice farmer and preserver of traditional seeds, will be conferred the title of ‘Professor of Practice’ by the university.
Vice-Chancellor B. Ashok presided over the ceremony and emphasised the need to expand agricultural education to more students
In its 54th Foundation Day, the university released 15 new crop varieties, including rice, coconut, beans, snake gourd, and fodder grass. Additionally, 16 innovative technologies aimed at reducing agricultural labour and enhancing value-added production were introduced to farmers.
As part of its transformation into a green campus, the university inaugurated a 500-kilowatt solar power project across its campuses in Thavanur, Vellayani, Padannakkad, and Vellanikkara.
The event also marked the introduction of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system to create a comprehensive digital database of the university’s various operational sectors. This software will facilitate efficient data management, secure information storage, and streamlined planning, covering areas such as marketing, finance, and human resources. The project, costing₹1.6 crore , is being implemented by the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited.
Feedback portal
In a first for Kerala, the university launched an in-house developed student feedback portal to enhance teaching efficiency, along with an academic administrative audit portal to improve institutional rankings and efficiency. A WhatsApp-website chatbot was introduced to provide information to students, staff, and pensioners. Farmers can also use this chatbot for accessing university services and resolving queries, including chat and file-sharing features. Additionally, an upgraded version of the Farm Extension Manager app was launched, offering information on 100 crops in both English and Malayalam.
The ceremony also saw the release of the Malayalam edition of the university statutes, a revised academic handbook, multiple farmer handbooks, a special issue of the Plant Science Today journal, and an atlas of Kerala’s weeds.
Key infrastructural developments were also inaugurated in the occasion, including the mushroom seed production centre at Anakkayam Agricultural Research Centre in Malappuram, the foundation stone laying for the first floor of the Climate Change and Environmental Science College academic block, and various construction projects at Thavanur Agricultural Engineering College and Padannakkad Agricultural College.
Additionally, a scholarship programme sponsored by Mondelez India for cocoa research was distributed, benefiting 16 undergraduate and 5 postgraduate students this year.
Employees who completed 25 years of service at the university and the scientists behind the newly released seed varieties were honoured. Students who received the ICAR fellowship from the university were also felicitated.
Awards were distributed for excellence in various categories to K.P. Sudhir (Best Teacher); Ameen M. (Best Researcher); Sunil V.G (Best Knowledge Extension Work); IFS Karamana (Best Research Team); Regional Research Centre, Pattambi (Best Research Centre); Thrissur KVK (Best Krishi Vigyan Kendra); and Vellayani Agricultural College (Best College).
