Two premier institutions in the district are vying to house the proposed agricultural university in Andhra Pradesh.
The Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) in Lam village on the Guntur-Amaravathi road starts with an advantage of being located near Guntur, but the Bapatla Agricultural College, which was established in 1945, has the academic credentials to have a university.
RARS was established at Lam in 1922 along with the Buffalo Research Station in an area of 300 acres of reserve forest. The two research stations functioned as a single unit till 1928.
Established with a mandate to improve dry land crops like cotton, tobacco, chilli and millet, RARS was upgraded to the zonal headquarters for the Krishna-Godavari Zone and later to headquarters for the Krishna Zone comprising Prakasam, Guntur and Krishna districts.
“We have already submitted proposals to the State government for setting up an agricultural university here at Lam considering its central location and proximity to Guntur and Vijayawada,” E. Narayana, Associate Director of Research, RARS, said.
RARS has close to 500 acres housing various research stations. Over the years, scientists at Lam have developed cost-effective integrated pest management for black gram , inter-cropping systems and production technologies for BT cotton.
Down south, the coastal town of Bapatla is home to the oldest agricultural college in the State. Established by the Government of Composite Madras State on the recommendations of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee to meet food security requirements and to impart agricultural education to graduates, the college is the oldest among the eight agricultural colleges affiliated to Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU).
The college was also accredited by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, in 1999-2000.
With a farm area of 300 acres coupled with varied types of soils ranging from sandy soil of the coastal belt to black soil of the Krishna river delta, the college offers practical training to undergraduate and postgraduate students and research staff. The farm is also being utilised for breeder and foundation seed for improved varieties of various crops.
