Genesis
The ICAR-All India Coordinated Research Project on Spices (ICAR-AICRPS) is the largest spices research network in the country through which a nationwide collaborative and interdisciplinary research is being carried out, linking ICAR system with the State Agricultural Universities and central institutions. All India Coordinated Research Project on Spices (AICRPS), located at ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode, Kerala has 38 centers (19 regular centers, 11 co-opting centers and 8 voluntary centers) representing 14 agro-climatic regions in 24 states including North Eastern States and Tribal areas. The time line of the Project over the years is presented here under:
Timeline of the Project:
1971: Initiated All India Coordinated Spices and Cashew nut Improvement Project with 4 centres at Solan, Mudigere, Panniyur & Pampadumpara.
1975: Five more regular centres started working with the project at Guntur, Jagudan, Jobner, Coimbatore and tribal area of Pottangi.
1981: Regular centres at Sirsi, Yercaud and tribal area of Chintapalle also started functioning.
1986: In the VII five year plan it became full fledged coordinating unit for spices (major spices and seed spices) as ICAR-All India Coordinated Research Project on Spices with its headquarters at ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode, Kerala. Also started regular centre at Kammarpally.
1993: Regular centres were started at Dholi and Hisar.
1995: Two more regular centres were added to the ICAR-AICRPS by opening centres at Dapoli and Kumarganj.
1996: Regular centres at Pundibari and tribal area of Raigarh started functioning.
2008: Eight co-opting centres in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu were started. Seven voluntary centres were also started in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
2014: Two co-opting centres at Assam & Nagaland and two voluntary centres at Gujarat and Rajasthan started functioning.
2018: AICRPS centre at Pasighat was upgraded as co-opting centre
