Reminiscing the saga of spices research for half a decade, the ICAR – Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode has entered to its 50th year of spice research. The institute celebrated the foundation day at their headquarters on July 1st.
Prof. Prasad Krishna, Director at NIT Calicut participated as the chief guest and complemented the scientists and staff at ICAR-IISR for their enormous effort in creating a significant mark in spices research in the country and making the institution a pride of the nation. Prof Krishna also added that NIT Calicut is committed to support IISR in any means, especially in advancements in the sector of Genome Sequencing, Bio Informatics and AI and IoT enabled technologies.
Dr. Sanjay Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General ICAR, New Delhi, presided over the function and lauded the institute’s long journey in transforming the spices sector of the nation. He also commented that the crux of the success of IISR is the multidisciplinary activities being carried out along with the multi-institutional research which stands as a model for collective effort in research and development. Dr. Prathap Kumar S, Director of NIELIT Calicut participated as a guest of honour, delivering a felicitation address wherein he commended the endeavours of ICAR-IISR in the realms of spices research. Dr. Sudhakar Pandey, ADG, ICAR, New Delhi, Dr. Vinay Bharadwaj, Director, ICAR-NRC, Dr. G Byju, Director, ICAR-CTCRI, Dr. B Augustine Jerard, Project Coordinator, AICRP on Palms and Dr. V A Parthasarathy, Former Director, IISR delivered felicitations in the event. A special logo for the Golden jubilee celebrations was also released.
Spice Awards Presented
The Spice Awards 2024 instituted by ICAR-IISR was presented in the function, where Prof. Prasad Krishna presented the Spice Awards to Mrs. Sopna Kallingal from Thrissur and Ms Diya Foundation, Kamrup, Assam. Diya foundation was recognized by the award committee for their efforts in promoting spice farming among small and marginal farmers of North Eastern Region while Mrs Sopna Kallingal was selected considering her initiatives in enterprise diversification and integrated crop management strategies promoting spice-based cropping system.
Dr. K S Krishnamoorthy, Principal Scientist at ICAR-IISR, welcomed the gathering and Dr. Sajesh V K, Senior Scientist at ICAR-IISR proposed the vote of thanks.
