Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute
Encyclopedia
Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) is a non-governmental organisation and non-profit research and development institute in Phaltan
, Maharashtra
, India
. The institute undertakes research and development in the fields of agriculture
, renewable energy
, animal husbandry
and sustainable development
. The institute was founded in 1968 by Shri B.V. Nimbkar, who remained its president until 1990. Dr.Anil K. Rajvanshi
is currently the director of the institute whereas Dr. Nandini Nimbkar
is the president.
varieties and hybrids for both high oil content and petals. NARI is one of the research centers included in the All India Coordinated Research Project on Oilseeds for irrigated safflower under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR, New Delhi). The institute has developed high yield varieties and hybrids of cotton
, sunflower
, safflower, and sweet sorghum (named Madhura), as well as technology for producing ethanol, jaggery and syrup from sweet sorghum. NARI also carries out agrochemical testing for various companies and research laboratories in India to the standards of the Central Insecticides Board for the purposes of registration of new agro-chemicals.
production. Improved breeds of sheep have been developed which are more productive than the local breed. Also boer goats are being used for cross breeding to improve meat production of the local goats.
Phaltan
Phaltan is a city, a taluka and a municipal council in Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The town is about 59 km north-east of the city of Satara...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The institute undertakes research and development in the fields of agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
, animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
and sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
. The institute was founded in 1968 by Shri B.V. Nimbkar, who remained its president until 1990. Dr.Anil K. Rajvanshi
Anil K. Rajvanshi
Dr. Anil K. Rajvanshi is an academic from India, and is the current Director of the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute .Dr. Rajvanshi was born and raised in Lucknow, India. He has been the director of NARI at Maharashtra, India since 1981. Prior to taking this position he served on the...
is currently the director of the institute whereas Dr. Nandini Nimbkar
Nandini Nimbkar
Dr. Nandini Nimbkar is an academic from India, and current President of the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute .Dr. Nimbkar started at NARI as a researcher. She became director and then in 1990 president of the institute. Nimkbar has 23 years of experience in agriculture research, and is also...
is the president.
Agriculture
NARI has developed various safflowerSafflower
Safflower is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds. Plants are 30 to 150 cm tall with globular flower heads having yellow, orange or red flowers. Each branch will usually have from one to five flower heads...
varieties and hybrids for both high oil content and petals. NARI is one of the research centers included in the All India Coordinated Research Project on Oilseeds for irrigated safflower under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR, New Delhi). The institute has developed high yield varieties and hybrids of cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, sunflower
Sunflower
Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
, safflower, and sweet sorghum (named Madhura), as well as technology for producing ethanol, jaggery and syrup from sweet sorghum. NARI also carries out agrochemical testing for various companies and research laboratories in India to the standards of the Central Insecticides Board for the purposes of registration of new agro-chemicals.
Renewable energy
Work in this field has been mostly in solar and biomass energy and recently in sustainable and environmentally friendly transport systems, ethanol lighting/cooking and handicapped rickshaw.- NARI has developed an efficient multifuel lantern called Noorie for rural areas.
- Complete technology for producing ethanol from sweet sorghumSorghumSorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
has been developed at the institute. A number of high ethanol yielding varieties have also been produced. - NARI has developed a stove running on 50% (w/w) and more ethanol/water concentration.http://southasia.oneworld.net/todaysheadlines/indian-ngo-awarded-for-its-innovative-lantern-cum-stove
- The gasificationGasificationGasification is a process that converts organic or fossil based carbonaceous materials into carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane. This is achieved by reacting the material at high temperatures , without combustion, with a controlled amount of oxygen and/or steam...
technology for thermal applications has been developed at NARI, including technology for gasification of loose leafy biomass fuels like sugarcane leaves and bagasse, sweet sorghum stalks and bagasse.http://gasifiers.bioenergylists.org/naribagassegas - Technology to increase survival of tree seedlings in arid regions has been developed. Solar energy is used to collect water from soil, which is then fed to the seedlings.
- NARI has developed technology for solar detoxification of distillery waste using photocatalysts.
- NARI has developed electric and improved cycle rickshaws.
- NARI has developed a motor assisted and hand operated rickshaw for physically handicapped persons, called Manhara.
- NARI has developed a lantern cum stove running on ethanolEthanolEthanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
for rural areas.
Animal Husbandry
The research and development has focused mostly on all aspects of sheep and goatGoat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
production. Improved breeds of sheep have been developed which are more productive than the local breed. Also boer goats are being used for cross breeding to improve meat production of the local goats.
Facilities
- NARI has an A class weather stationWeather stationA weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind...
for its agriculture and renewable energy research where all the weather data including solar radiation has been collected since early 1980s. - The institute has crop varietal evaluation as well as pesticides and growth promoters testing facilities.
- The Bajaj Center for Sustainable Development, scheduled to open in March 2010, is intended to allow professionals from different fields to work towards finding solutions for the problems faced, in particular, by rural India.
Awards
- NARI was awarded the Globe Award for its work in ethanol lantern cum stove
- NARI was given the FICCI Annual Award for Rural Development for 2001-02
- NARI's work on electric and improved cycle rickshaws won the Energy Globe Award in the AIR category in 2004
- The Institute was given the Vasantrao Naik Award for 2006 for contributions to agriculture
- NARI was given the 2007 CSIR award for S&T for rural development for its sheep breeding work
- Dr. V. Singh, the safflower breeder of the Institute, was given the HARDF Award by Indian Society of Oilseeds Research in January 2003