Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) and Director General, ICAR, New Delhi inaugurated the Coastal Agri Expo 2019 at ICAR-CCARI, Old Goa, Goa
Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) and Director General, ICAR, New Delhi inaugurated the Coastal Agri Expo 2019 at ICAR-CCARI, Old Goa, Goa
Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) and Director General, ICAR, New Delhi inaugurated the Coastal Agri Expo 2019 at ICAR – Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute, Old Goa on 2nd March 2019 at 10.30 am. The Coastal Agri Expo 2019 is organized by ICAR-CCARI, and Association for Coastal Agricultural Research, Old Goa, Goa at Dr. A. R. Bhattacharya Farmers’ Exhibition Hall of ICAR – CCARI, Old Goa, Goa during 2-4 March 2019. Speaking on the occasion, the chief guest of the inaugural function, Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) and Director General, ICAR, New Delhi congratulated ICAR-CCARI and ACAR, Old Goa for organizing the Coastal Agri Expo 2019. He briefed about the challenges faced by the agriculture sector in past and how these were tackled with the help of research and development. He spoke about the challenges to be faced in the future in agriculture and other sectors and how we can be prepared in that direction. He stressed that ‘dissemination of the technologies through platforms like expo’s or melas is one important way to create awareness among farmers and other stakeholders’. Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra underlined the ICAR’s various research achievements to achieve the national food and nutritional security and bring prosperity and economic security to our farming communities.
Dr. M. B. Chetti, Vice Chancellor, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Dr. S. K. Chaudhari, ADG (Soil and Water Management), ICAR, New Delhi, Dr. N. P. Singh, Director – National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Baramati, Maharashtra, Dr. Madhav Kelkar, Director, Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Goa, were guest of honor for the inaugural function. Dr. E B Chakurkar, Director and Dr. M Thangam, Principal Scientist and Secretary, ACAR, ICAR-CCARI, Goa represented as the organizers of the event. The farmers and officers from the Lakshadweep UT were felicitated during the occasion. Publications of the event and Institute were released by the chief guest and guests of honor.
The participants for the expo were Institutes of ICAR and others, state agricultural universities, krishi vigyan kendras, central and state government organizations, cooperative societies, agro-based private companies and industries, self-help groups, NGOs and farmers of the state of Goa, adjoining states and Lakshadweep UT and press and media. The Expo is organized with a central focus on agriculture, livestock and fisheries in the coastal region of the country. In the three days event, different stalls have been put by organizations to display the technologies and products developed by them to give information to the farmers. The technologies and products include improved and traditional varieties of the field and horticultural crops, different breeds of livestock, traditional and value-added agro-products, farm machinery and implements, seed and planting materials of improved varieties, publications associated with the technologies, etc. A three-day workshop on “Coastal agriculture for sustainable production vis-à-vis doubling farmer’s income” has been organized by ACAR and ICAR-CCARI, Old Goa during the Expo for the benefit of the farmers. During the workshop, the farmer-Scientist interaction provided the farmers with an opportunity to discuss the farming related problems with the scientists.
A visit to the experimental farm of the Institute was also organized during the event where the scientists introduced the newer research and development to the guest and farmers.
Dr. M Thangam, Principal Scientist of the Institute and Secretary, ACAR delivered the formal vote of thanks.
Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra visited different farms in the state of Goa wherein different technologies of the Institute have been disseminated and demonstrated successfully.
He visited a field demonstration of improved varieties of cashew nut and intercropping under the Tribal Sub Plan by a group of farm women at Ziltawadi, South Goa, a commercial cultivation of the improved cashew varieties by Mr. Angelo Baretto, Kakoda, South Goa and Tanshikar Spice Farm (Agro Ecotourism), Netravali, South Goa.