Agro-Tech begins in Chandigarh; overseas farmers to visit

Chandigarh, Dec 1 (IANS) Farmers from various states and other countries, agriculture experts, scientists and industrialists will be part of the 10th edition of the Agro-Tech fair which started at the Parade Ground here Saturday.

Thousands of people, including local residents and visitors from other states could be seen mingling with farmers on the first day.

“Farmers from nearby villages and towns as well as from Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana trooped in early. Over 175 exhibitors, including 45 from overseas, have displayed their products at the fair,” said a spokesman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which has organised the event.

Farmers from the Netherlands, Australia and Nepal are also expected to participate in the Agro-Tech fair this time.

Farmer Dilbagh Singh from Fatehgarh Sahib, who was visiting Agro-Tech for the first time, said: “We had heard so much of AgroTech from our fellow farmers. We are very impressed with the new technologies on display.

“I wish I had come earlier too. There is so much to see and everything is the latest, which we don’t get to see otherwise anywhere else.”

Bashir Ahmed Bhat, a farmer who has come from Ganderbal in Jammu and Kasmir said: “We have come as a group of 30 farmers from all over Jammu and Kashmir. We grow vegetables, fruits and wheat. We will be hoping to learn a lot of new farming techniques from Agro-Tech. Such fairs should be held in our state also.”

Some other farmers from Punjab and Haryana said that they have been visiting the biennial Agro-Tech in the past and buying latest farming equipment from here.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who himself is a leading agriculturist in Punjab, was to inaugurate the fair Saturday but he cancelled his visit due to the state mourning announced following the death of former prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral Friday.

IANS 2012-12-01 19:42:32