NewZNew (Chandigarh/Punjab/Haryana) : The premier biennial agro technology and business fair, CII Agro Tech 2014 has acted as a platform to showcase the best practices, innovative techniques, latest products and advanced technologies being practiced in pockets in different parts of the country. Farmers from the region have been able to learn from their counterparts from other states. Hundreds of Farmers were seen discussing the best methods and their experiences at various platforms at CII Agro Tech throughout the day.

The exhibitors from states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, J&K etc interacted with the small and marginal farmers and shared the key features of their small and medium products ranging from innovative implements, fertilizers, seeds, other equipments and best practices etc.

Mr. Rajnish Tulli, AGM Projects, Department of Agro Industries, Punjab, shared that “Being a host state, we understand the expectations and needs of the people coming in. But what is fascinating is the ability of the event to attract farmers from other states as well, giving us an opportunity to showcase and learn each others’ best practices in irrigation, harvesting, cultivation, use of fertilizers, livestock management, proper use of seeds, soil management etc that can be useful to everyone, irrespective of the geographical divisions.”

Mr. Mukesh Sharma, General Manager, Haryana Agro Industries expressed his excitement on the participation and highlighted that “It is a great platform to push our practices in the fields of irrigation and water conversation. The exchange of ideas and discussions on the various issues at a platform like CII Agro tech with farmers from different regions who are the key stakeholders helps us to reach a consensus and at times show us the right path to address the same. Even at state level we try and provide farmers with as much information but such get together of the agri community further encourages us to intensify our efforts and take the benefits to the more and more farmers.”

Mr. V P Maurya, PPO, Department of Agriculture, Uttarakhand, the focus state, shared that “We are here to share our knowledge on organic farming in hills and gain the best practices of others for the benefit of every farmer in the country. The great eagerness of the visiting farmers to learn more indicates the need for the consistent exchange of information to further strengthen the community in not just the state but the entire country.”

Mr Navin Srivastava, Agriculture Bureau, Uttar Pradesh, who was found interacting witha lot of farmers shared that “We achieved 24.46 Quintals/hectare in fodgrains like Rice maize,bajra etc last year. We were able to achieve this huge productivity because we educate our farmers on proper use of pesticides, which seeds to use and soil and water management. The state representatives are sharing a lot in terms of technology from the event. It is amazing to gain such knowledge under one roof, and this effort to bring everyone under single umbrella will eventual help the farmers, who come here with the great expectations to have a better understanding of the changing technologies, practices and government initiatives.”

The participating states are being represented by the respective departments on; Agri Industries, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, department of Agriculture among others.

Some of the other interesting features of CII Agro Tech 2014 include Interesting live display of Automatic Feed System for Poultry and Dairy Farm Development Mobile Vans at Livestock Expo, Live display of Fish Farming, Food Tech with interesting display of ‘Vito’ Oil Filtration System, Interesting displays on Integrated Agri Business Model for Waste Land Development and benefits derived from Paddy Straw Composting, Live display of Soilless Farming (Hydroponics) and functional Solar Pump, Animal Identification system (RFIDs), cooling solutions for Livestock, Veterinary homoeopath products, Implementex displaying digital panel for Tractors and Solar Energy Systems, Proposal to launch newer & efficient model of tractors and display of foldable water tank, Rice Transplanters, Vertical Garden at Good Earth Show.