Affiliation:
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi-110012.
Mailing address:
Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture
Santoshnagar, Hyderabad – 500 059
Andhra Pradesh, India
Phone : +91-040-24530177 (O)
Fax 1 : +91- 040- 24531802
Fax 2 : +91-040-24535336
E-Mail 1: director@crida.ernet.in
E-Mail2 : vbandi_1953@yahoo.com
Web: http://www.crida.ernet.in
Mission statement
The mission of Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) is to conduct basic and applied research for improving the productivity of natural resources in dryland / rainfed areas, to develop techniques and systems for long-term conservation and efficient utilization of dryland / rainfed environmental resources, to understand crop growth process and yield management more specifically under moisture stress, to conduct mitigation and adaptation research on climate change impacts, to carry out economic evaluation of technologies and to study the constraints and develop suitable resource based models for adoption.
The environment of the location
The head quarters of this institute is located between 17.20 N Latitude and 78.30 E Longitude on the Deccan Plateau in the southern part of India, at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh within semi-arid climatic region. The Institute serves the drylands / rainfed areas of India which are solely dependent on rainfall.
History
The Institute was established in 1971 by Government of India, first as a small coordinated project with various net work centres located in the dryland regions of the country. Each of the net work centres under this project had the mandate of conducting applied research specifically applicable for the location in which it was situated. The project has developed large number of simple technologies which enhanced the production of rainfed crops significantly. However, considering the growing importance of dryland agriculture in the national economy, the project was upgraded and an independent institute was established with the name of Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture in 1985. Ever since the institute has been concentrating on basic and strategic research in the area of dryland agriculture, technology transfers, national and international collaboration. The institute currently is a nodal centre for coordination of research on dryland agriculture, agrometereology and climate change. It received several awards including the most prestigious ICAR best research institute award. Many scientists of CRIDA are distinguished fellows of national academics and serve at many national level policy making committees and boards.
Structure of the Institute
The institute is divided into two divisions and two sections besides three coordinating cells for the all India projects. Each division consists of 15-20 scientists of multi-disciplinary nature. The scientists work on problems cutting across divisions and disciplines in a multi-disciplinary manner. Each division is headed by an expert in one of the disciplines. CRIDA also has several expert scientists who are recognized at national level as National Fellows and expert consultants who work independently to fulfill the mandate of the institute. The institute is headed by the Director who is responsible for all technical and administrative decisions. For its research planning, it is helped by research advisory committee consisting of eminent experts drawn from the country who meet twice a year and provide directions to the Institute in research and technology transfer.
Research thrusts
The main research programmes of the institute are:
- Rain water management and water productivity enhancement
- Drought mitigation
- Climate resilient cropping systems
- Soil health improvement and enhancing nutrient use efficiency in drylands
Other information
CRIDA has successfully completed many research projects in collaboration with international organizations like USDA, ACIAR, World Bank, DFID and CG Institutes like ICRISAT, IWMI and ICARDA. It has helped the CG system in developing the mega research programmes.