Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Palakkad

KVK Palakkad serves as the innovative fist-line-transfer of technology centre of the district; which aims to reduce the time lag between the generation of technology and its adoption by farmers, in the larger interest of the farming community and the nation. KVK Palakkad was established on 2nd October 1979 under Kerala Agricultural University. From the humble beginning as a part of the Rice Research Station, Pattambi, the last 30 years has witnessed tremendous growth in the quality of services and physical infrastructure of the KVK. Now, the KVK Palakkad, rated, one of the best technology transfer centres of the Kerala Agricultural University is well equipped with all modern facilities and amenities with separate administrative building, library facilities, audio visual aids and a soil and water testing laboratory for the conduct of both on- and off- campus training programmes.

Front line demonstrations are one among the important tools used by KVKs for technology transfer. Palakkad KVK is in the fore front for organising FLDs in various areas of agriculture with a view to improve farming technology. Assessment and refinement of technology in the location specific conditions of Palakkad district in another major activity taken up by us. In addition, we are imparting need based, skill oriented training for the needy farmers of Palakkad district in various disciplines like agriculture, horticulture, agricultural engineering and home science. Unlike the conventional way of giving trainings, KVK is disseminating knowledge to the various categories of farming community, by organising training with emphasis on work experience based on the specific felt needs of the local farming community.

Priority thrust areas

Sl. No. Thrust Areas

1 Improved agronomic and engineering techniques for reduction of cultivation cost

2 Popularisation of improved crop varieties and their scientific management

3 Water conservation in agriculture.

4 Integrated farming system.

5 Farm mechanization.

6 Integrated Pest & Disease and Nutrient Management

7 Value addition and market promotion of fruits, vegetables, spices & coconut.

8 Conservation of energy and fuel by use of efficient implements & renewable energy

9 Eco-friendly farming.

Mandate of the KVK

Conducting “on-farm testing” for identifying technologies in terms of location specific sustainable land use systems.
Organise training to update the extension personnel with emerging advances in agricultural research on regular basis.
Organise short and long-term vocational training courses in agriculture and allied vocations for the farmers and rural youths with emphasis on “learning by doing” for higher production on farms and generating self employment.
Organise front line demonstrations on various crops to generate production data and feedback information.

Krishi Vigyan Kendra is an innovative transfer of technology project which aims to reduce the time lag between the generation of technology and its adoption by farmers in the larger interest of the farming community and nation.  The KVK is imparting need based, skill oriented training for the needy farmers of Palakkad district in various disciplines like Agriculture, Horticulture, Agricultural Engineering, Social forestry, Animal Husbandry and Home Science.  Unlike the conventional way of giving trainings, the KVKs are disseminating knowledge to the various categories of farming community by organizing training with emphasis to work experience.  Training contents are so tailored as to cater to the specific felt need of each group of trainees.

In order to achieve this aim, the KVK is performing the following major functions through an integrated approach incorporating the following programmes.

Farm advisory services

On farm Research (Location specific on-farm research for assessment and refinement of newer technologies)
Need based trainings to farmers, grass root level workers and extension functionaries.
Consultancy services to entrepreneurs, government agencies and NGOs.
Collaborating with the 3-tier system of governance, for imparting training and technical guidance, preparation of action plan and monitoring of rural development programmes.

Date of Establishment:
2^nd October 1979

Geographic Location:
10° 48' 45" N 76° 11' 23" E