Agri-gating
in April
All
arms of agriculture, from farmers to the research fraternity, are
set to come together this April at Hyderabad for Agritex 2004 - International
Trade Fair and Direction Programme
April
9-13, 2003 will see the farming community of Andhra Pradesh, agri-input
providers and the facilitating agencies of the State and Central Governments
gather together at Hyderabad to participate in Agritex 2004 – International
Trade Fair and Direction Programme.
The event is being organised jointly by the Department of Agriculture,
Government of Andhra Pradesh and Hyderabad International Trade Expositions
(Hitex) at the Hitex Exhibition Centre. Major highlights of the event
are dryland agriculture, mechanisation of agriculture and marketing.
A
constituent event of Agritex 2004, Celebrating International Year
of Rice 2004, organised by the Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad,
will be an added attraction at the event. This will include display
of the latest rice varieties and farming technologies. N Chandrababu
Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, while discussing the relevance
of Agritex 2004, says, “Agriculture – coupled with its allied sectors
like dairy and poultry – has been the lifeline of the economy of Andhra
Pradesh and provides livelihood to over 70 per cent of the State’s
population.
We
are striving towards making Andhra Pradesh into a powerhouse of Indian
agriculture, with well developed, efficient and productive allied
sectors and strong agro-industries by year 2020. Agritex is a step
in forward in this direction.” Elaborating on the event, the Minister
for Agriculture, V Sobhanadreeswara Rao, says, “Agritex is a novel
integration of an agricultural direction programme and trade fair.
The
Direction Programme will impart direction to farmers in the latest
agricultural practices, covering agri-inputs management, crop management,
post harvesting and marketing. Manufacturers of seeds, fertilisers,
pesticides, farm implements, irrigation systems and other agri-inputs
will form part of the concurrent trade fair, which will become a ready
market for the farming community to source quality inputs.”
Opining
over the timing of the event, Sutirtha Bhattacharya, Commissioner
of Agriculture, Andhra Pradesh says, “We have timed Agritex right
before the kharif crop so that the farmers can gather valuable inputs
from the Trade Fair and Direction Programme before commencing their
cultivation.
In
the Direction Programme, major research and training institutions
based in Andhra Pradesh are simultaneously converging to organise
interactive sessions with the farmers to direct them in right cropping
methods and answer their queries. Videoconferencing facilities are
also being planned to facilitate farmers from remote areas to interact
with scientists.”
The
Direction programme will cover subjects like crop diversification,
export-oriented agriculture, organic farming, efficient crop management
practices, micro-irrigation, watershed...
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