Introduction
National Commercial Crop Research Centre is a coordination body under Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) for the improvement and integrated management of commercial crops. The cnetre located at Khumaltar was established in 2057/03/30 B.S. Commercial crops in Nepal mainly encompass tea, coffee, large cardamom, stevia, aleovera, ginger, jute, and sugarcane. These are the important commodities significantly contributing to the national economy helpful in improving livelihoods of farmers by harnessing income through direct and indirect employment opportunities in and outside the farm. It has been remained as the mainstay of the agrarian economics in the country playing key role for the rural people to promote the ecotourism and maintenance of ecological balance. These commodities not only play an important role in the agrarian and industrial development of the country as a whole but also contribute a significant amount to the national exchequer of country’s export and import substitution. The contribution of tea to AGDP and agricultural export is 0.17 and 6.48 % respectively. Similarly, coffee has contributed 0.01 and 0.65 % to AGDP and agricultural export respectively. Likewise, large cardamom has been contributing with 0.70 and 7.03 % AGDP and agricultural export respectively. Jute and sugarcane have also significant contribution to the national economy and rural employment. Very little research and developmental works have been carried out in tea, coffee, large cardamom and other commercial crops. So, research and technology development in commercial crops for enhancement of livelihoods of farmers and concerned stakeholders is an urgent need. Its main objectives are to develop zone specific appropriate and suitable technologies through public-private partnership.
Mandate
- Act as a National repository center of information on commercial crop production technologies.
- Conducting and coordinating research on all aspects of commercial crop improvement, production and protection technology.
- Establish linkage with National/Regional/International Commercial Crop Research Agencies for exchange of expertise, research materials and collaborative research.
- Collaborate with other crop commodity research programs to conduct their research during off season for commercial crop for research and seed production.
- Publish research findings and recommendations of latest technologies and collaborate with extension agency for their dissemination.
- Assist NARC in formulating policy on commercial crop research and production
Objectives
- To establish strong linkages and coordination among national and regional crop research stations and commodity programmes and all concerning stakeholders for the promotion of commercial crops.
- To work in a multidisciplinary team approach consisting of scientists and technicians to undertake the productive program.
- To develop superior cultivars and seed planting materials to location specific areas for production and productivity improvement in sustainable manner.
- To identify pest of different commercial crops and their Integrated Management (IPM) techniques by conducting researches for productivity enhancement.
- To carry out studies on the uses of different cultural, traditional practices and biological agents to manage pests in commercial crops.
- To generate databases on Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) of pesticides and to develop safe plant protection schedules in the commercial crops.
- To develop Integrated Soil Nutrient Management technologies for sustainable production.
- To disseminate appropriate technologies and make economic impact assessment.
- Provide training to train technical staffs and farmers.
- To provide services to growers, government agencies and concerned institutions by identifying problems and providing timely advices to help manage them.
Researchers/Experts
- Dr. Umesh Kumar Acharya, Senior Scientist (S-4)/Chief
Contact Address
National Commercial Crop Research Centre
Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal
Tel: +977-1-5545921 (Office)
Website: www.narc.gov.np