From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore
Bangalore, Aug 24: “Farmers must form cooperatives to address the problem of fragmented land holdings and thereby make use of the best and the biggest machines to increase production and productivity,” said Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies Dinesh Gundu Rao.
The minister inaugurated the fifth edition of Agri Tech India and five concurrent expos, at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) organized by Media Today group in Bangalore.
“Mechanization of farmers through cooperatives would not only give a boost to agricultural production but also solve the labour shortage,” he said.
He called for policy changes, use of latest technology, contract farming and a check on wasteful expenditure to take agriculture forward in India as majority of the land holdings in the country were most small and marginal.
The minister also inspected the stalls and interacted with the company representatives including those of Buhler, Ugur Makine, and Altuntas.
The inaugural ceremony that was followed by three-day event saw the presence of several high-profile dignitaries including trade counselors from several embassies, CEOs and MDs of several leading overseas farm and agribusiness firms.
The focus of the event is on farm mechanization as it is increasingly gaining in importance in India, as it is evident in parts of South India and Western India.
They face acute shortage of labour due to various reasons, especially rising enrolment in educational institutions and migration of youth to countries abroad in search of lucrative employment.
In India, the transformation in agriculture being showcased through these expos is becoming the focus point for drawing delegations and trade visitors, thereby adding value to Indian agriculture, food processing and other employment-generation activities.
S Jafar Naqvi, chief coordinator of Agri Tech India, said, “There is a great buzz of the event and about India as a fast emerging market for agricultural machinery and it is surprising to know that India’s machinery imports have crossed total farm machinery imports of entire Europe.”
He also said, “This event inspires Indian farmers to move from Agri Culture to Agri Business to sustain and achieve good profits and farm mechanization is the only way towards this goal.”
The massive and comprehensive Agri-event has five concurrent expos; the 5th India Foodex, 4th GrainTech India, 3rd Dairy Tech India, 2nd Poultry and Livestock Expo as well as Flora Tech brought under one roof virtually all activities relating to agri business.
This platform has been conceptualized by Media Today group, dedicated to agri and food sector for nearly the last two decades.
“We are trying to bridge the gap between farmers and suppliers of farm machinery and equipment, not only from India but also from countries like Holland, Turkey, Italy, Germany, China and Israel as farm solutions in these countries are more user-friendly. Imports of such equipment and machinery into India are on the rise,” Naqvi said.
He further explained that foreign companies manufacturing farm machinery and processing equipment view India as a potential market as interest in farm mechanization and on-site value addition have escalated in this country of late.