Bangalore, Nov 7 (The Hindu): The annual Krishi Mela on the Gandhi Krishi Vignyan Kendra (GKVK) campus at Hebbal, from November 11 to 14, will have 400 stalls showcasing the latest advances in agricultural technology as well as a large variety of farm produce.
Speaking to presspersons here on Saturday, University of Agricultural Sciences Vice-Chancellor, K. Narayana Gowda said that this year's edition was expected to draw at least five lakh farmers from all over Karnataka, compared to four lakh last year.
“Rains have been good and even. So, we expect more enthusiasm from farmers to learn about varieties of crops, cropping system technologies, value addition and so on,” Mr. Gowda said.
Cell
A consultancy cell for farmers, where they could get information from experts on anything ranging from seed variety to finance, had been arranged at the mela.
There would also be a series of special ‘For Farmers, By Farmers' interactions, he said.
The university will display and demonstrate five new hybrid varieties of paddy, maize, groundnut, soybean and cowpea this year.
Mr. Gowda said that organic farming would get focus at the mela, with stalls dedicated to organic farmers, their produce and the technology used. Organic farmers would get a special slot in the interactive session on one day.
The university had been doing a lot of work in the area of organic farming at its 14 research centre, and its vermi-composting initiative had been a success, he added.
Speaking about the emphasis on training farmers in value addition, Mr. Gowda said that a large number of farmers were trained in making value-added products of ragi and maize.
“A number of women have been trained in making ragi malt and in commercialising it also,” he said.
Mr. Gowda said the university had asked the KSRTC to ply special buses to the campus during the mela, which would be inaugurated by Governor H.R. Bhardwaj.
Jackfruit juice and wine
The UAS, which had initiated research on making wine and juice from jackfruit sometime ago, has now standardised the procedure.
Mr. Gowda said that with the procedure standardised, it could now be launched on a commercial scale.
This would be sustainable, particularly in the Western Ghats region where a lot of the produce goes waste.