3rd – 5th January 2025, Kasargod
ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute celebrated its Foundation Day today. To mark the occasion, a National Seminar on ‘Harnessing the Plantation Sector for Sustainable Development Goals’ and the ‘Kalpa Agri-Tech Expo 2025’ exhibition were organized at the institute from January 3rd – 5th, 2025. The event was inaugurated by Dr Himanshu Pathak, Secretary (DARE) and Director General (ICAR), on January 3rd, 2025.
In his inaugural address, Dr Pathak highlighted that traditional farming methods are insufficient to meet the needs of a growing population and changing dietary patterns. He emphasized the importance of science- and technology-based research to advance agriculture, with a focus on market orientation and inclusivity for women and youth. Dr. Pathak advocated for sustainable, nature-friendly farming practices and the integration of agriculture with cultural values. He stressed the need for intensified science-based agriculture to achieve a “Vikshit Bharat and emphasized that the agricultural growth rate of 3.5% is because of the progress in horticulture, fisheries, and livestock sectors.
Earlier, Dr Pathak laid the foundation stone for the new KVK Kasaragod building, inaugurated a multi-utility hub, the Bharat Ratna MS Swaminathan Committee Hall, and a 110 kWh solar power grid. Additionally, he launched the Kalpa Agri-Expo 2025, featuring quality planting materials, handicrafts, and homemade products from farmers and SHGs.
On the occasion, the DG also distributed coconut seedlings and climbing devices to the trainees.
The Guest of Honor, Dr V.B. Patel, Assistant Director General (Fruit and Plantation Crops), ICAR. He urged the need to extract bioactive compounds and their utilization from the plantation crops for sustainable future income.
Dr K.B. Hebbar, Director, ICAR-CPCRI, Kasaragod, highlighted that the share of plantation crops in terms of the agricultural economy, especially in exports, touched around 13%. He reiterated that the seminar is conducted to take stock of the progress made during the last decade under sustainable development goals (SDG) and to develop strategies for the next 5 years to meet the set targets under SDG.
Dr J. Dinakara Adiga, Director, ICAR-Directorate of Cashew Research, Puttur; Dr George Ninan, Director, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi; and Dr Grinson George, Director, ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, also graced the occasion.
During the event, ICAR-CPCRI transferred technologies to 9 entrepreneurs through the exchange of a Memorandum of Agreement and signed an MTA for microbial inoculants with Nitte University. Other highlights included the release of the Book of Abstracts, the launch of Kalpa Bhooma (a circular bioeconomic product), soil-less media for nurseries, the Kisan Samridhi Portal, and a virtual assistant for the ICAR-CPCRI website.
(Source: ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasargod)
