Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela: Farmers Learn About Smart Agriculture, Natural Farming, High Productivity & Agri Exports

Thousands of farmers from all over India are participating and taking benefit of Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela 2022. The main theme of the fair is “Self-reliant farmer with technical knowledge”.

As many as 12000 farmers participated on the second day of the mela and purchased over 1100 quintals of Pusa seeds. There were four technical sessions wherein farmers were informed about Smart agriculture; Natural Farming; Hydroponic and Aeroponic Agriculture for High Productivity; and Agriculture exports for prosperity.

Seeds of 3 varieties of Basmati rice; Pusa Basmati 1847, Pusa Basmati 1885, Pusa Basmati 1886 were distributed to the farmers in the fair so that they can produce seeds of these new varieties themselves. Farmers showed interest in Live demonstration of new crop varieties, demonstration of protected cultivation of vegetables, flowers and in the exhibition and sale of agricultural implements developed by the institutions and private companies.

Besides this, display and sale of agricultural products and agrochemicals, display and sale of products developed by innovative farmers also attracted the crowd.

Over 100 ICAR Institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and other institutes showcased advanced technologies through 225 stalls. On the first day, more than 12000 farmers from different regions of the country took part in mela and learned about varieties and technologies developed by various divisions of New Delhi, as well as availed live exhibition, different agricultural models and farmer advisory services.

On the second day of the Mela, the first session was on "Digital Smart Agriculture" which was presided over by Deputy Director General (Natural Resource Management) ICAR. Dr. S. K. Chaudhary. In this session, Ashish Jangale, (Chairman, Precision Farming, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.) talked about “Automation and Artificial Intelligence for Smart Agriculture”. Abhishek Burman (CEO, General Aeronautics Pvt. Ltd.) discussed about “Drone technology for better crop health” and Rashi Verma (Agsmartik Pvt. Ltd.) spoke on “IOTs for Smart Irrigation”.

Second session was on "Protected, Vertical, Hydroponic and Aeroponic Agriculture for High Productivity and Income" which was presided over by DDG (Horticulture Science), ICAR,Dr. A.K. Singh. In this session Padmashree Dr. Brahma Singh, former OSD (Horticulture), Rashtrapati Bhavan and Dr. Pitam Chandra, Ex. Director General (Engineering), ICAR, also participated.

Third session was on “Promotion of Agriculture Exports for Prosperity” which was presided over by Dr. Tarun Bajaj, Director, APEDA.

Last session was on “Organic and Natural Farming” which was chaired by Additional Commissioner (Agriculture Extension & INM), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Dr. Y.R. Meena.

In this session, Ashok Kumar Yadav (Former Director, National Center for Organic Farming, Ghaziabad) talked about 'Certification of Organic Farming through Participatory Guarantee System (PGS)' and Dr. Riba Abraham (Assistant General Manager, Organic Products, APEDA, New Delhi) spoke on 'Third Party Certification in Organic Farming'.