The K. J. Somaiya Institute of Applied Agricultural Research (KIAAR) is located in a rural area of Sameerwadi village of Mudhol taluka and Bagalkot district with its headquarters at Mumbai. KIAAR was established to provide technical advisory services to farmers of Bagalkot and Belgaum districts on innovative agricultural technologies for improving their economy and livelihood. In order to achieve the set goal, the institute is engaged in the formulation and implementation of need based research projects that help in attaining sustainability of production. The outcomes of location specific research reach the farmers and the industry through efficient Transfer Of Technology (TOT) and Agricultural Knowledge Management (AKM) activities that are carried out in collaboration with a strong Cane Development wing of Godavari Biorefineries. Ltd., Sameerwadi.
KIAAR is on a fascinating path of growth and development. KIAAR is primarily focussed on three powerful concepts of Creation of Knowledge, Dissemination of knowledge and Application of Knowledge.
The excellence in research in KIAAR comes from the careful choice of faculty members who are inducted based on academic excellence, right attitude and devotion to work. The institute’s core competence and scientific strength are based on the overarching integration of diverse and cutting-edge immersive technologies such as life sciences, soil microbiome, earth sciences, Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The funded national and international collaborative projects add considerable value to our scientific endeavours of social relevance. Our faculty strength has increased during the last two years and we are expecting this to increase further in coming years. The concerted team efforts are discernible in the scientific publications and field level adoption of the regenerative production technologies. In the near future, we foresee that KIAAR’s disruptive ecological farming practices would result in the steady progress and prosperity of farming in the region.
KIAAR works very closely with the Godavari Biorefineries Limited (GBL) industry and actively seeks the participation of industry faculty and leaders in identification of problems faced by the farmers in the region. This helps KIAAR to keep our services relevant to the needs of farmers and the industry. KIAAR provides training to officers of GBL to enable them to transfer research outcomes and technologies to the farmers.
KIAAR will be celebrating its Golden Jubilee in 2022. We look forward to the event and continue to strive towards strengthening the Institute for achieving the set goals.