Context:
The Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare recently inaugurated the Krishi Sammelan (Farmer’s Meet), organised by the ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute.
Relevance:
GS III: Agriculture
About Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI):
- Establishment: The Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) was originally established by the Government of Madras in 1916 with a focus on coconut research. It was later acquired by the Indian Central Coconut Committee in 1947.
- Incorporation: In 1970, the CPCRI was formally established as one of the agricultural research institutes in the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
- Headquarters: The institute is headquartered in Kasaragod, Kerala.
Mandate:
- Initial Mandate: Initially, the institute was tasked with conducting research on coconut, arecanut, cocoa, cashew, oil palm, and spices.
- Expansion and Delinking: Over time, the research on cashew, oil palm, and spices was separated from CPCRI to form individual institutes. In 2023, a new mandate crop, Palmyra Palm, was added to the institute’s research portfolio.
- Research Divisions: The research programmes of the institute are organized under five divisions: Crop Improvement, Crop Production, Crop Protection, Physiology, Biochemistry and Post Harvest Technology, and Social Sciences.
- International Coconut Gene Bank: CPCRI hosts the International Coconut Gene Bank for South Asia, located at Kidu in Karnataka.
- Coordinated Research Project: The institute serves as the headquarters of the All-India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Palms, furthering research efforts in this field.
