The District Agricultural Farm was established in Taliparamba (Kannur district, Kerala) in 1905 by Charles Alfred Barber, a botanist and taxonomist. The farm was started on the recommendation of the Famine Commission of 1880, in order to conduct research on pepper but it later evolved into undertaking further activities like hybridization, production and distribution of seeds and seedlings.
Spread over an area of 56 acres, the farm has a great variety of exotic fruit trees including mangosteen, durian and rambutan. It also has a mango orchard with more than 60 varieties of mango trees from all over India. Many other trees like coconut, arecanut, jack fruit, cocoa, coffee, sapota, and spices like nutmeg, clove and pepper can be found in the farm. It also has a medicinal plant garden and paddy fields. The farm is visited by the general public, students, teachers, researchers and nature lovers from Kerala as well as neighbouring states. The farm helps the agricultural community through production and distribution of seeds, seedlings and grafts of various crops including paddy, vegetables, cash and plantation crops, spices and fruit trees.
Realising the importance of the flora and fauna of the farm, Kannur District Panchayat has established a Biodiversity Centre and an Indigenous Technical Knowledge Centre on its premises.