On March 7, the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Regional Station, Vitla, will host a horticulture fair and training on cocoa production and processing technologies.
The Directorate of Cashewnut and Cocoa Development (DCCD) of Kochi is sponsoring the event.
There will be technical sessions on the principal horticulture crops cultivated in the region, such as coconut, areca nut, cocoa, cashew, spices, and so on. It will be followed by a meeting between farmers and farm experts.
Exhibition stalls from Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) institutes, state agriculture and horticulture agencies, nurseries, farm machinery manufacturers, the CAMPCO chocolate factory, the South Kanara Bee Keepers' Society, and others will demonstrate their technologies.
On this occasion, a quiz competition is also planned for school students, according to a CPCRI announcement issued on Saturday.
According to the release, Amai Mahalinga Naik, a farmer who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2002, Rajaram, MD of Eco Blizz, and Shankar Bhat Badnaje, a progressive farmer, will be honored for their contributions to agriculture and the elevation of the agricultural community, unemployed youth, and rural women.
About Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI):
The Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) was founded in 1970 as one of the agricultural research institutes of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). At the time of its establishment, the Institute was authorized to research coconut, areca nut, cocoa, cashew, oil palm, and spices. The research on cashew, oil palm, and spices was eventually delinked from CPCRI to become separate institutions.
The current organizational structure of the Institute, with headquarters in Kasaragod, Kerala, Regional Stations in Kayamkulam (Kerala), Vittal (Karnataka), and Research Centres in Kahikuchi (Assam), Mohitnagar (West Bengal), and Kidu (Karnataka) meet the research needs of the mandatory crops at the national level.
