Expert lays stress on diversification of crops

While agreeing with popular belief that agriculture “is risky business”, Director-General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) S. Ayyappan said on Thursday that, however, farmers in places such as Kodagu had shown how farming could be profitable.

He was inaugurating the golden jubilee of the Cardamom Research Centre (CRC) at Kodagu, an Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) release here said.

The cardamom centre at Kodagu comes under the purview of the IISR. Dr. Ayyappan said the ICAR would also set up a planters’ home at Madikeri to offer training to farmers in the region.

Diversification

“Agriculture being probably one of the riskiest businesses, for it to be profitable, we have to give importance to diversification of crops and specialty agriculture,” Dr. Ayyappan, who is also the Secretary in the Department of Agricultural Research & Education (DARE), said.

He was all praise for planters for their success in spices cultivation. He said that spice plantations at Kodagu were model farms for farmers from the other States. “They have proved that farming is a profitable venture. The productivity of black pepper in these plantations is far above that of Vietnam,” he said.

He said the decision to upgrade the CRC and set up the planters’ home were New Year gifts for farmers at Kodagu.

N.K. Krishnakumar, Deputy Director-General of Horticulture, who presided, wanted the IISR and the CRC to identify pockets where cultivation of cardamom and black pepper and other profitable spices could be grown on a large scale.

M. Anandaraj, IISR Director, Amrik Singh Sidhu, Director of the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore; George V. Thomas, Director of the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, spoke.

Publications such as Capsule, a souvenir of the golden jubilee celebrations, Sadaram, a comprehensive publication on 50 years in cardamom research, and special issues of Spice India and Indian Journal of Arecanut, Spices and Medicinal Plants published to commemorate the golden jubilee were also released at the function.

Progressive farmers from Kodagu such as S.B. Jayaraj of Murugarajendra Estate, Madapur; B.M. Mahesh Kumar of Hosathota Estate, Sakleshpur; John Thomas Ramapuram of Doona Ann Plantations, Siddapura; C.P. Pramod of Cauvery Estate, Madikeri; Duleep Nanjappa of Pakka Estate, Madikeri, and Prema Ganesh of Prema Estate, Madikeri, were honoured by Karnataka Speaker K.G. Boppiah at the programme.
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Planters’ home to offer training to farmers

Planters lauded for success in spice cultivation

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source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Kozhikode – December 22nd, 2012