Technical support for the centre to be provided by Andhra Pradesh-based IIOPR

01/06/2015 (The Hindu) - The University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences (UAHS), Shivamogga, will set up a centre for research on cultivation of oil palms at Bavikere, a village in Chikkamagaluru district.

The proposed research centre would come up on the premises of the Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station of the university at Bavikere. P. Narayanaswamy, Director of Research, UAHS, told The Hindu that the Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research (IIOPR) at Pedavegi in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, would extend technical support to UAHS, Shivamogga, in establishing the research centre. A team of experts from IIOPR visited Bavikere recently and expressed satisfaction about the facilities available there for setting up the research centre. The UAHS, Shivamogga, had identified 40 acres of land at Bavikere for the purpose, he said.

The project would be funded by the Indian Institute of Agricultural Research (IIAR). It would provide a sum of Rs. 25 lakh annually to the university to run the research centre, which would include payment of salary to the staff and the cost of maintenance of the centre, he said.

The UAHS, Shivamogga, would submit a proposal to IIAR in this regard, shortly. After the approval by IIAR, the process of recruitment of staff to run the research centre, including appointment of scientists, agronomists and administrative staff, would begin. The university would create the infrastructure, including the construction of a well-equipped laboratory and a conference hall to conduct training programmes for farmers, he said.

The climate in Malnad region was conducive for the cultivation of oil palms. At present, oil palm was being cultivated in about 2,000 hectares of land in Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru districts. The proposed centre would take up research on scientific methods of planting oil palms, pest management and harvesting practices.

Farmers in the vicinity would be trained in all these aspects. The research centre was likely to become functional in about three months, he said.