World Environmental Day was celebrated at ICAR CPCRI, Kasaragod on 5^th June 2024 on the theme ‘Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience’. The programme was held under the chairmanship of Dr. K. Balachandra Hebbar, Director, ICAR-CPCRI.

Shri Ananth Hegde Ashisara, former chairman of the Western Ghats Task Force, was the chief guest of the programme. He delivered a speech regarding various kinds of ecosystems as a part of the Western Ghats, including the coastal ecosystem, river valley, wetland, deemed forests and plantations, and tradition, culture, and gestures of gifting tree seedlings during important occasions to promote biodiversity conservation. He also gave a brief overview of protecting biodiversity, horticultural diversity, energy sustainability, production at the local level with biogas, and solar electricity generation. And he also mentioned saving local and traditional varieties including Kalase coconut, Rama areca, wild varieties, and conserving nature while agricultural scientists conduct their research activities.

Shri Prakash Mestry, Marine Ecologist, was also present in the programme. He spoke on the importance of documentation of traditional forms of agriculture, that itself is a resource documentation with more than 4000 years history to learn by the younger generations in the country.

A tree-planting programme was held as a part of the celebration in the main office campus. Dr.Thamban C., Dr. Samsudeen K., Dr. Muralidharan K .Principal Scientists, Smt.Thambayi V., Shri Velayudhan M., Shri Lakshman Naik, Shri Pakkeran V. S., Shri Sukumaran K., Skilled Supporting Staff, Shri Manikandan K., Technical Officer, KVK Kasaragod, Shri Krishnan K. Nair, Shri Krishnan M., Shri Panduranga K., Shri Sundara B.,Technicals, who are retiring from service in a year planted evergreen tree saplings.

Fruiting tree saplings were also distributed from the ICAR-KVK, CPCRI to women farmers and Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1 teachers and MoU on ‘Kalpa organic gold-Coconut leaf vermin composting’ wassigned between Prathik Solanki and ICAR-CPCRI during the occasion.

Painting competition for school children from Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1, CPCRI Kasaragod was also held as a part of the programme. Chief Guest distributed prizes to the winners of the competition.

Director welcomed the gathering and Dr. K. Ponnusamy extended vote of thanks.

 

ICAR-KVK, Alappuzha also celebrated World Environment Day on 05.06.2024 initiating the planting of 1000 perennial fruit plants in farmers’ fields to mark the occasion of the Golden Jubilee Year of KVKs. Sri K.C. Chandramohanan, a renowned environmentalist, inaugurated the programme by planting a jackfruit plant, followed by 50 farmers planting fruit trees on the KVK campus. ‘Fellow farmer’ certificates to the farmers, whose success stories were documented earlier by the KVK and published by the ICAR, were distributed on the occasion. Brush cutters under the SCSP programme were handed over to two farmer groups on the occasion.