Vijayapura: The three-day Krishi Mela organised at Agriculture College here got concluded on the evening of Tuesday January 3 and remained successful with over 50,000 people, mainly farmers turning up for the annual event.
Though the organisers were expecting a crowd of nearly one lakh, since prominent seers of North Karnataka Siddeshwara Swami died during the mela itself, the farmers who were prepared to visit Mela, went to pay their tribute to the Seer.
“Despite that tragic incident of the demise of the seer, we received significant visitors on the first day at least. The farmers found the event educational and informative,” said the Campaign Committee President R. B. Belli.
He said that this year, the focus of the event was on Millet production as 2023 has been declared as Millet Year. The Mela had around 40 stalls exclusively meant for millet and millet-based products, he said.
He said that one of the objectives of the mela was to educate the farmers about modern farming techniques to increase production and save their cost of input. He added that the farmers were told about the usage of drones in farming.
“Today in many advanced countries, drones have become a very essential part of farming as the technology not only saves money but also increases revenue. Considering this aspect, the State Agriculture Universities also encourage the farmers to use this modern technology,” Belli said.
He admitted that Drone technology is yet to gain popularity in India as a majority of the farmers are uneducated and the price of drones is also too high.
“The best present solution is to provide the drone at the Custom Hire Centre of the State Government. The centres have been set up in many Gram Panchayats of the State where various farming equipment is given to farmers on rent at a subsidised rate. The Drones too should be given on rental bases to farmers through the centre. The Government should keep a trained person to operate a drone. The drone could be used for spraying pesticides or fertilisers. The farmers who have large tracts of land can use the drone to save money and time,” he said.
He informed that the exhibition and sale of various farming products were also held. The interactive sessions were also held where the farmers talked to experts on various farming aspects.
