Monday, July 18, 2016

Agri fair attracts farmers

The 16{+t}{+h}edition of Agri Intex, an agriculture fair, is attracting farmers from different parts of the State. On Friday and Saturday, nearly 50,000 people visited the exhibition.
With 400 exhibitors, including those from other States and foreign countries such as China, Italy and Germany, the fair has a wide range of machinery, appliances, farm inputs, seeds, and accessories.
Live demonstrations of irrigation systems and farming methods, model farms, sale of products, and details of government schemes are available at the fair. The expo is organised by Coimbatore District Small Scale Industries Association (CODISSIA).
About 80 per cent of the exhibits are machinery. So far, mostly large machinery was displayed at the fair. This year, affordable and smaller ones are exhibited, said R. Shasi Kumar, chairman of the event. Yet, mechanisation in farming is just 45 per cent and more ranges of affordable machinery should be made available, he said.
The products on display also showed the increasing use of technology in farming activities such as pumping of water and irrigation.
Mobile based applications, sensors, and digital displays are used now.
Solar energy systems are also used widely. Government departments, institutions such as Tamil Nadu agricultural University, and private companies have put up stalls.
At the India International Coir Fair, organised by the Coir Board and CODISSIA and which has 95 exhibitors, a wide range of coir products are on display.
From coir machinery and hydroponic grow bags to mats, and decorative items made out of coir, the exhibition has it all.
Exhibitors have come from Odisha, Gujarat, and Karnataka, apart from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. At some stalls, artisans make the small products and take up bulk orders too.
Furniture made of coir wood, bags and umbrellas made of coir, vertical gardens using coir pots, and varieties of coir pith have been displayed.
The exhibitions are on at CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex on July 17 and 18.

Source : The Hindu

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