Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Farm support plan for Wayanad

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) has been selected as the leading centre for implementing a Rs.40-crore scheme for ensuring livelihood security to the farmers of Wayanad district.

Christened as National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP), the scheme is being implemented in 150 backward districts of the country with full financial support from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Wayanad is the only district which will be covered by the project in Kerala, KAU Vice-Chancellor K.R. Viswambharan told The Hindu here.

The NAIP is a step towards attaining rural livelihood security in the country through an integrated approach of utilising scientific achievements on a commercial scale. It is being implemented through the ICAR at the national level for the next five years, adopting a consortium approach of different stakeholders.

The KAU will be the leading centre of the consortium for the NAIP in Wayanad while the Agriculture Department, Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council of Kerala, district panchayat, Coffee Board, Spices Board, Indian Institute for Spice Research, Indian Cardamom Research Institute, Wayanad Social Service Society and the Veterinary College, Pookot, will be the partners of the consortium.

KAU Director of Research D. Alexander said the project would have components for enhancing production, productivity as well for value addition and marketing in sectors like agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries.

Out of the Rs.40 crore, the KAU is planning to allocate Rs.7 crore for the animal husbandry sector and the rest for the agriculture and allied sectors. Intervention in livestock and poultry sectors would be attended by the Veterinary College, Pookot, Dr. Alexander said.

The strategy would be to evolve and execute an integrated intervention package of various innovative technologies on conservation of natural resources, productivity enhancement, post harvest processing and value addition of farm produce as well as marketing.

A cluster approach would be adopted for scientifically demonstrating the impacts of the strategies and technologies evolved by the KAU for enhancing the livelihood levels of the farmers, the Vice-Chancellor said.

Dr. Alexander said the clusters would be run with the participation of the self- help groups. Three clusters would be formed in Wayanad for the NAIP project and they would be located at Mananthavady, Vythiri and Sultan Battery.

The clusters would house the units meant to demonstrate the efficacy of the KAU strategies in areas like augmenting farm production and productivity as well as value addition and marketing. The farmers across the district would then be able to adopt the strategies followed in those clusters in their farms, with suitable modifications in accordance with their local requirements.

He said the ICAR had approved the preliminary project report submitted by the KAU. The final project proposal would be submitted within a couple of days.

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