Established in 1971, the
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has  contributed
extensively to the development of the farming community. It offers
Under-graduate, Post-graduate and Ph.D. Programmes in Agriculture,
Horticulture, Agricultural Engineering, Forestry and Home Science.
These programmes are offered through its ten constituent colleges,
which are housed in seven different campuses.
The Rural Agriculture Work Experience (RAWE), which exposes
the students to real-life field problems, is a unique aspect of the
University’s educational programme. Programmes like B.Tech (Food
Processing), M.Sc and MBA in Agriculture Marketing Management were
introduced to address the need for trained manpower in these sectors.
The University has moved with the signs of time and has the best equipped
laboratories, even at the Under Graduate level. Sophisticated and
advanced scientific equipment like Column Chromatography with Electrophoresis,
DNA Analyse and Sequencer, Environment Analyser, Rainfall Simulators,
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Tree cap canopy Analyser and Root Scanner
are some of modern equipment used in the laboratories.
Apart from this, all the constituent colleges of the university have
crop cafeterias, which are equipped to accommodate about 120 crop
species at any given time. These cafeterias serve as observation
plots and as specimen banks for undergraduate students, to help them
make biometric observations. Students also use them to identify crop
varieties, nutrient deficiency symptoms, physiological disorders,
pest and disease incidence symptoms, mechanical injuries and other
phenomenon.
The University has a Renewable Energy Park at its main campus.
This park displays various renewable energy gadgets, developed by
the University’s Department of Bio-energy since 1982. The
park provides detailed information and guidance to students, farmers
and entrepreneurs on renewable energy sources. Some of the renewable
energy tools on display include solar-fuelled cookers, dryers, green
houses and bio-mass run pyrolysis plant.
The University publishes News Letters - ‘Valarum Velanmai’ and
‘Seithi Madal’, which directly release research findings
to the farmers. Other innovative programmes designed to equip the
farmer with modern scientific techniques and findings are the Farm
school on All India Radio and Audio Cassette lessons.
The University is among the four Indian Agricultural Universities
implementing the World Bank aided Agricultural Human Resources
Development Project (AHRDP). The University is also the recipient
of the Best Institution Award from Indian Council for Agricultural
Research (ICAR) in 1998.
Address: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Lawley Road,
Coimbatore - 641 003, Phone: 091-0422-431222.
Author: Joseph Pradeep Raj
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