K.R.Viswambharan, ,Vice Chancellor of KAU.

INTERVIEW

The Kerala Agricultural University was established on 24 February 1971, to give the much-needed impetus for agricultural development in the state through education, research and extension. K.R.Viswambharan, IAS took charge on March 2007 as Vice Chancellor of KAU. The emerging challenges in front of him are how to sustain academic excellence in agricultural education and research by integrating the best of traditional knowledge and also how to prevent the state’s natural resource base by prevailing Socio-Economic Environment.

He did his M.Sc. from Maharaja’s College and then did LLB from Law College Ernakulam. He has worked in various capacities such as Deputy Collector, Ernakulam, RDO, Fort Kochi, RDO, Moovattupuzha, ADM, Ernakulam, Director of Sports & Youth Affairs, Managing Director, KBPS, District Collector (Ernakulam), Director, Municipal Administration, CEO, VFPCK, Director of Public Instruction (DPI), Managing Director, Rubbermark, Chairman-Managing Director, TELK, and District Collector, Alappuzha.

His major works and achievements as Ernakulam District Collector are: The paperwork of Goshree Project blossomed and the work of the bridge started in 2001;Houses, Pattayam (15,000) for all;Initiative in Rainwater Harvesting;Commendable handling of law and order situation in the district; Settled major disputes; Record collection of Kargil and Gujarat relief fund; Conducted public grievance Adalat which was a relief to all citizens; Drove literacy campaign as RDO, Fort Kochi;Acquisition of land for CIAL and settlement of all disputes thereby for a model airport in Cochin; Settlement of communal riots in Mattancherry as RDO.

K.R. Viswambharan, IAS, Vice Chancellor of KAU talks to Sreeni K.R about his role, vision and future plans about the institution.

1.When did you take charge as the Vice Chancellor of Kerala Agricultural University?

I took charge on 28-3-2007 as the Vice Chancellor of Kerala Agricultural University.

2. When was Kerala Agricultural University established and what was its aim?

The Kerala Agricultural University was established on 24 February 1971 as per the KAU Act (Act 33, 1971 of the Kerala State Legislative Assembly). It is the only Agricultural University in the state to give the much-needed impetus for agricultural development in the state through education, research and extension.
As per the Act, the University’s mandate is “Providing human resources, skills and technology required for the sustainable development of Kerala’s agriculture including crop production, animal husbandry, forestry and fishery by integrating education and research, and by piloting their large-scale field adoption with supporting extension activities.”
Translation of this mandate into a strategic action plan, however, requires consideration of the state’s natural resource base, the prevailing socio-economic environment, and the emerging challenges. Considering these, the University has set the following immediate objectives and research policies:

 To sustain academic excellence in agricultural education and research by integrating the best of traditional knowledge with frontier technologies such as biotechnology, information technology and nanotechnology.

 To generate technologies to improve production and productivity of location specific crops, livestock and fisheries.

 To conduct basic, applied and adaptive research for developing appropriate technologies with special reference to the socio-economic conditions of the farmer.

 To set up an extension network for the efficient transfer of the technologies developed by the university to farmers through the extension personnel of various developmental departments.

 To promote agro-based industries with indigenous and modern technologies.

 To develop technologies for mechanizing farm operations in Kerala and lessening the drudgery.

 To locate, preserve, patent/register and improve the available technologies and varieties.

 To preserve the biodiversity in the state for future use in crop and animal breeding programmes.

 To facilitate professionalism of management friendly institutions and support service systems for assisting the farmers in maximizing the economic gains through the efficient utilization of domestic resources and effective management systems.

 To produce technical manpower required in agriculture and allied areas.

 To introduce distance and contact learning programmes for farmers, rural youths and women to bridge the technology gap in agriculture.

 To provide the manpower required for professional management of not only the technical departments of the state but also those institutions involved in providing support services for agricultural development, such as co-operatives, financial institutions, processing and marketing organizations, agribusiness and enterprises so as to make farming and agricultural enterprises efficient, cost effective and viable.

 To research on forestry to conserve nature and natural resources, and to make forestry a viable commercial enterprise.

 To transform the University into a forward-looking international centre of eminence in agricultural education and research.

The University fulfils its objectives through a network of four faculties (Agriculture, Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Fisheries, Agricultural Engineering).Under these faculties there are 10 constituent colleges, 6 Regional Agricultural Research Stations, 26 Research Stations, 3 Centres of Advanced Studies, 7 Krishi Vignan Kendras and 11 Instructional Farms, with the support of a team of 713 Teachers/ Scientists, 800 technical staff, 1362 administrative staff and 2200 permanent labourers and 500 casual labourers.

3. What is the contribution of Kerala Agricultural University in the development of Agriculture sector as far as Kerala is concerned?

Kerala Agricultural University has made significant contributions for the improvement of agricultural education, research and transfer of agricultural technology.KAU as a nucleus institute in agriculture research has developed modern and improved production technologies in more than 125 traditional and popular crops as well as animals of humid tropics. The research results obtained out of various experiments implemented in KAU helped the farming community a lot in improving productivity of field crops, horticultural crops, livestock, poultry and fishes popular in the farming sector.

Apart from high standards maintained in agricultural education, KAU made commendable contributions in:
Developing high yielding varieties of crops like rice, coconut, pepper, cashew, fruits, vegetables, etc., and livestock animals and fishes.
Production and distribution of quality planting materials of high yielding varieties.
Developing sustainable agriculture production technologies like integrated nutrient and pest management, organic farming etc.
Eco-friendly technologies for crop pests, disease and weed control, Biofertilizers, Farm mechanization,Agro forestry and sustainable land use systems,Conservation of biophysical resources etc.
4. To what extent are you able to blend the traditional form of agriculture with the new education system?

Agriculture is an art, science and business. The art of agriculture is the traditional knowledge, transferred from generation to generation. The modern agriculture aims at improvement in the traditional agriculture by the application of knowledge achieved in modern science like physics, chemistry and biology. The students of agriculture are exposed to the art of agriculture as well as the science of agriculture. So a blending of both traditional agriculture as well as modern technology is achieved. After the in-house learning, the students are exposed to the traditional and modern farming situations during their 6 month field training termed as “Rural Agricultural Work Experience Programme”. It provides diverse opportunities to the graduates for experiential learning and acquaints them with various farm operations and/or exposes them to actual work situations.

At the scientist level, there is frequent interaction with the farmers so that the best out of the traditional knowledge and the modern agrl. technology is achieved. In each region in the state, KAU organizes a Zonal Workshop to discuss and fianlise the research and extension programmes to be undertaken by the University. In this workshop, technical persons from the extension departments and farmers’ representatives are invited.

5. Kerala Agricultural University has excelled in research, education andextension in the area of Agricultural biotechnology. How does the servicedirectly benefit the farmers?

Biotechnology research has helped to develop viable protocols for mass multiplication of various spice crops (black pepper, ginger and vanilla) and medicinal plants (Kaempferia, Trichopus, Holostemma, Gymnema and Tylophora). Field performance of tissue culture regenerants has been evaluated and the protocols are ready for commercialization. The tissue culture multiplication technique has been transferred to the Dept. of Agriculture for mass multiplication planting materials and supply to the farmers.

Protocol for indirect organogenesis has been developed for black pepper, ginger, Holostemma and Tylophora. Soma clones are being evaluated for stress tolerance and quality traits. Procedure for in vitro production of secondary metabolites from callus has been developed for Coscinium fenestratum, an endangered medicinal plant. Medium term in vitro germplasm conservation methods have been perfected for vanilla, black pepper and medicinal plants like Holostemma and Tylophora.

In vitro propagation techniques in orchids like Phalenopsis and Dendrobium, gladiolus and schefflera were standardised.

In vitro propagation of rosewood and successful out planting were done for the first time in the world.

In banana, the protocol developed by KAU is being used by several nursery units. KAU is also providing virus indexing service to screen the explants, before multiplication so that the farmers are given virus free planting material.

All the above are of direct benefit to the farmers.

6. In spite of all research and awareness, Kerala agriculture sector is lagging behind. What do you think is the reason behind it?

Kerala agriculture is lagging behind not because of the lack of research and availability of modern technology in agriculture. It is due to the peculiar socio-economic situations prevailing in Kerala and the shift in price policies of the Govt. of India under WTO regime. We have transformed from a protected market to an open market and the resultant fall in prices of the agricultural commodities has affected the farmers a lot. This resulted in a lot of neglect of agriculture by the farmers.

There are more problems specific to Kerala, like labour scarcity, very high wages of labourers, small land holding, absentee land owners etc. Agriculture is not the main vocation of most of the people. Only 17 % of the population are real farmers fully dependent on agriculture. There are so many absentee farmers, who own farm lands, but do other works like Govt. jobs, business, work in gulf countries etc., and these result in low attention to the farming activity and low productivity.

Another peculiarity is the cropping pattern. In Kerala, 88 % area is under commercial/plantation crops and only 12 % area under food crops. The prices of these commercial crops fluctuate widely, based on the changes in the world market.

The farmers are not getting satisfactory returns, because of high wages and other costs.

7. What awareness programs are you conducting for farmers?

Farmers are made aware of the new agricultural technology through Agricultural exhibitions and seminars, Farm/ Agro–clinics, University-publications like “package of practices/recommendations”, Agricultural Technology Information Centre, Agro Biotechnology Agency for Rural Employment Development (ABARD), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Village Adoption Programme, On-Farm Research, KAU Veterinary services, Agro-meteorological Advisory Services etc.The technologies useful to the farmers are also given wide publicity through print and visual media like news papers, magazines, AIR, television channels etc.

8. Paddy fields are vanishing day by day. People are migrating from one agricultural field to other fields. How adversely does it affect our agricultural field? What do you think is the reason behind it?

There is an alarming reduction in the paddy area during the last three decades. The reduction in paddy area during this period is 65 % (The area decreased from 8.8 lakh ha to 2.9 lakh ha). There are several reasons for the drastic reduction in paddy area. Large extent of lands were converted to uplands by filling and planting tree crops which are less labour intensive and more remunerative. Scarcity of agricultural labour, very high wage rates compared to neighbouring states, non- remunerative returns are considered reasons for the lack of interest of the farmers for growing paddy.

The State may be saved from further reduction of paddy area by bringing in legislation to prevent conversion of paddy lands and legislation against fallowing. Also there shall be legislation on restriction on purchasing farm land by non-farmers as prevalent in many other states.

The reduction in paddy lands has so many ecological, environmental and economic impacts. Paddy fields acts as a water reservoir and contribute to the recharge of ground water. It can also act as a reservoir of rain water and protect the neighbouring area from floods. The food security of the state is adversely affected if paddy cultivation is neglected. The livestock may also be affected as the paddy straw fed to the livestock becomes short in supply. The wetland ecosystem and the biological diversity associated with it is of considerable ecological and environmental significance.

9. What is organic farming and what is the technology developed in KAU?

By definition, organic farming is a “System approach of crop production, observing the rules of nature, targeted to produce nutritive, healthy and pollution free food, protecting the entire system of nature, maximizing the use of on-farm resources, minimizing the use of off-farm inputs and avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.”

In short, it refers to organically grown crops which are not exposed to any chemical right from the stage of seed treatment to the final post harvest handling and processing.

The Benefits of organic farming are

• Food safety
• Soil conservation and maintenance of soil fertility
• Less pollution of water (ground water, rivers, ponds, wells)
• Protection of wild life (animals, birds, frogs, insects etc.)
• Increased biodiversity
• Better utilization of farm animals
• Less utilization of non-renewable external inputs and energy
• Pesticide residue free food – healthy society and wealthy nation
• No hormones and antibiotics in animal products
• Better product quality (taste, nutrition, storage properties)

ORGANIC FARMING – TECHNOLOGIES developed in KAU

• Vermicomposting technology
• Enriched vermicomposting technology
• Vermiwash collection technology
• Coir pith composting technology- T. harzianum and Pleurotus spp. are effective degraders.
• Enriched coir pith production
• Simple technique for innoculum production
and farmer level multiplication of Trichoderma in cow dung –neem cake based inoculums

• Bacillus and Actinomycetes isolated from Kerala soils for the management of soil borne diseases.
• Successfully commercialized and transferred the mother cultures of Trichoderma, Pseudomonas fluorescence, AMF and Azospirillum.
• P.sajor caju, S.commune, P.eous are identified as the ligno cellulotic fungi suitable for decomposing retted and non retted coir pith.

10. The Government seems to have taken initiative measures in organic farming. Do you think it is a welcome step?

The present initiative of the Govt. of Kerala on this subject is a welcome step. The Govt. has to initiate steps to finalize its organic farming policy. At the Govt. India level the policy guidelines are issued for the country. The Govt. has taken many initiative steps like regulating all the important aspects of organic farming,giving proper guidelines to what materials should be used to enrich the soil, such as organic manures, soil conditioners and fertilizers of natural origin (plant and animal origin), micro biological materials, etc.

11. What is the scope for organic farming in Kerala and which are the major markets for Indian organic products?

There is great scope for organic farming in Kerala considering the following points:

• High level of literacy and awareness.
• Home to spices and medicinal plants.
• Rich natural resource base or biodiversity.
• Low rate of consumption of chemical inputs compared to other states in India.
• Many farmers and their associations already practising organic farming.
• Increasing awareness for organic agricultural products among consumers.

Major Markets for Indian organic products are :

• Europe – The Netherlands, UK, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Italy and Spain
• America – USA, Canada
• The Middle East – Saudi Arabia, UAE
• Asia – Japan, Singapore
• Australia
• Africa – South Africa.

12. What new courses do you plan to introduce in the coming years to save the agriculture sector?

Agriculture is an art, science and a business. So far we were focussing mainly on the agricultural science. The business part of agriculture needs more attention so that the income from farming can be stabilized. We have started new courses in “Agri-business Management”. We have plans to start a 5 year integrated degree programme leading to Master’s degree in “Biotechnology”. Our policy on education is to create technically qualified professional graduates with practical knowledge, so that they can be excellent performers in their job and also become good entrepreneurs in the field of agriculture.

They will be not only job seekers, but also job providers. The new courses proposed to be started are job oriented ones so that the rural youths are made fit to contribute to the agriculture in the state. We have plans to start degree programmes in Food technology, Bioinformatics, short certificate courses in Agri-machinery operation and maintenance, Mushroom farming, Apiculture (Honey bee culture), Organic farming, Agri-input production and management, post harvest processing of food and value addition, etc.

Yes. As mentioned earlier, a blending of traditional systems with modern technology is needed.

Organic farming technology, and the integrated nutrient and pest management techniques developed by the University are good examples of the blending of traditional knowledge with modern agricultural technology.

The University is also having programmes to document indigenous technical knowledge/practices in farming. The indigenous practices relating to major crops in Palakkad and Alappuzha districts of the state were documented through surveys and were further categorized based on the user validity. Such surveys will be conducted in other parts of the state and valid technology will be integrated with modern technology to develop eco-friendly and economically sustainable production technologies