more-in The Farmers’ Training Centre (FTC) at the Urban Wholesale Agricultural Market at Vengeri, for which construction started six years ago, may soon become a reality. The three-storey building, located at the western end of the 10-hectare market, under the Department of Agriculture, was conceived to benefit farmers in north Kerala, more than a decade ago. The Thrissur-based Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD) was tasked to construct the complex at a cost of ?96.6 lakh in 2012. After multiple warnings of legal action and blacklisting, COSTFORD, which delayed the work, managed to complete the structure a month ago. Now, the recent floods took a toll on its inauguration. “Water and power supply connection works are yet to be over. We had fixed a date for its opening. But right now, the department is busy assessing flood damage. A report has to be presented to the World Bank team on the loss,” Director of Agriculture T.K. Jayasree told The Hindu. The department will look at fresh dates, possibly next month or so for the inauguration, she said. The plan was to build a satellite centre of the State Agriculture Management Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) with modern facilities for training farmers in Kozhikode and Wayanad districts. According to the agreement, the building should have been completed by August 31, 2014. The facilities proposed at the centre include seminar hall, mini conference hall, demonstration room and laboratories, separate dormitories for women and men, kitchen, and dining halls.

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