Cocoa Research Centre of KAU to be upgraded to national level

Kochi, Sep 10 (UNI) The National Committee on Cocoa has recommended upgradation of the Cocoa Research Centre at the Kerala Agriculture University to a national level centre.

This was decided at a meeting of the committee at Kottayam today, an official release here said.

It was also decided that the State Horticulture Mission Director will mediate between the department and the Kerala Agriculture University and submit the project proposal to the Union Agriculture Ministry.

To protect the interest of the farmers as well as to pave the way for the development of cocoa in the country, the committee directed the development departments and the cocoa industry to go in for tripartite agreements with the farming community. The committe also emphasized the need for generation and distribution of quality planting materials.

Dr C V Ananda Bose, Additional Secretary (Horticulture), Ministry of Agriculture, who chaired the meeting, called for a coordinated approach for the development for cocoa in the country.

Project Mission Directors from Kerala and Andhra Predesh, scientists from the Kerala Agriculture University, Tamil Nadu Agriculture University and the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute and the representatives of the processing industry were present at the meeting.

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