398 Farmers Participate; Emphasis on Improved Crop Varieties, Value Addition and Sustainable Farming Technologies
Almora: The 53rd Krishi Vigyan Mela was organized at the Experimental Farm of ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS), Hawalbagh, Almora, with the theme “Empowered and Well-Nourished Women Farmers: The Foundation of Developed Agriculture.” The event focused on taking modern agricultural technologies and research-based solutions directly to farmers in the hill region.
The programme was inaugurated by Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Chairman, Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board, New Delhi. The event was attended by Dr. A.K. Sharma, former Director, ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms, Mau; Dr. C. Tiwari, Chairman, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Matela; Dr. Narendra Kumar, Joint Director, Horticulture Department, Uttarakhand; and Anand Goswami, Chief Agriculture Officer, Almora.
The programme began with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp, followed by Vande Mataram and the ICAR anthem. Farmers from different areas visited the exhibition stalls and interacted with scientists regarding improved crop varieties, modern agricultural technologies and research innovations suited to mountain conditions.
Director of the institute, Dr. Lakshmi Kant, welcomed the guests and farmers and highlighted the institute’s contribution to mountain agriculture. He stated that the institute has so far developed 204 improved crop varieties. He particularly highlighted biofortified maize varieties such as VL Triphoshi, VL Suposhita and VL Vita, which have significance from the perspective of nutritional security.
Dr. Kant informed the gathering that the institute has developed 20 varieties of finger millet and seven varieties of barnyard millet, many of which are performing well in different parts of the country. He also highlighted the performance of VL Vegetable Pea-13, developed for Uttarakhand and showing good performance in other regions.
The Director further said that the institute has identified a special bacterium aimed at reducing fertilizer consumption and has developed technologies for rainwater harvesting and efficient water use in mountain areas. He also highlighted mushroom cultivation and beekeeping as potential avenues for enhancing farmers’ income. To address crop damage caused by wild animals, he suggested the use of chain-link fencing and solar fencing.
Chief Guest Dr. Sanjay Kumar congratulated the institute’s scientists for their work and emphasized the need to strengthen the traditional Baranaja farming system through value addition and modern interventions. He stressed the importance of promoting mountain crops such as horse gram, lentil and black soybean, along with processing and value addition.
He also emphasized increasing the shelf life of kafal, promoting cultivation of flowers, aromatic and medicinal plants, and developing low-water-use crop varieties. He highlighted the need for processing facilities and branding to provide mountain agricultural products with wider market access.
Dr. A.K. Sharma emphasized organic and residue-free agricultural production and urged farmers to adopt technologies suited to climate change and global warming. Dr. C. Tiwari stressed the role of Krishi Vigyan Kendras in taking improved varieties and technologies to remote farming areas.
Progressive farmers were felicitated during the event for their efforts and adoption of innovative technologies. The awardees included Umesh Singh, Shashi Bhatnagar, Trilochan Raj Tamta, Devendra Singh Bisht, Sangeeta Devi, Shivraj Singh Parmar, Hira Devi and Chanchal Ram.
Under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan, farmers from several villages of Almora and Bageshwar districts were distributed 37 VL toolkits, five finger millet threshers, eight power weeders and 130 tarpaulins.
The event also witnessed the launch of VL Shreshtha vegetable pea variety and charcoal-based VL BioGent-9. Publications including Parvatiya Krishi Darpan and other extension materials were also released.
For commercialization of VL Poly Tunnel technology, an agreement was signed with M/s Parashar Agrotech Bio Pvt. Ltd., Varanasi, while an agreement for commercialization of VL Vegetable Pea-13 was signed with M/s Ambar Agrovet, Rudrapur, Udham Singh Nagar.
The exhibition featured participation from several ICAR institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, government departments and non-governmental organizations. A total of 398 farmers attended the event. During the farmer-scientist interaction session, experts addressed farmers’ queries related to mountain agriculture, while participating farmers also shared their experiences.
