ICAR - CENTRAL ARID ZONE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

The Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) is located at Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. It began in 1952 as the Desert Afforestation Research Station, focusing on sand dune stabilization and shelter belt plantations to combat wind erosion. In 1957 it was reorganized as the Desert Afforestation and Soil Conservation Station, and in 1959 it was reconstituted as CAZRI on the recommendation of UNESCO expert Prof. CS Christian of CSIRO, Australia. In 1966, it came under the administrative control of ICAR. CAZRI conducts research across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and the cold arid zones of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. It received the Sardar Patel Outstanding ICAR Institution Award in 2017. The institute operates through six divisions, including Natural Resources, Integrated Farming Systems, and Agricultural Engineering and Renewable Energy, and maintains five Regional Research Stations in Pali-Marwar, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Kukma-Bhuj, and Leh. It has developed technologies for sand dune stabilization, water management, and solar energy devices, and runs Krishi Vigyan Kendras for farmer outreach.