Congratulating CII on the successful completion of the 4 day CII Agro Tech held at Parade Ground, Chandigarh Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister, Punjab today said that this was a very important event for farmers, especially the farmers of Punjab. Speaking at the Valedictory Function of Agro Tech, where he presided as the Chief Guest, Mr. Badal pointed out that Punjab with 1.5 % geographical area had been contributing more than 55% in the national food kitty. :However, in ,the process of making India self-sufficient, Punjab had, bled itself of its nutrients in the soil besides ground water. I”t is very important for our farmers to understand new technologies and new processes at a Fair like Agro-Tech and all of us must thank CII for bringing all the stakeholders – the companies, farmers and the government on one platform to tackle this problem, “ he statedGiving a call for diversification in agriculture sector, Mr. Badal said that farmers would have to come out of vicious cycle of Wheat and Paddy and focus on low water consuming cash crops. He said that Punjab Government was seeking investments from the entrepreneurs especially in the area of diversification of Agriculture sector, food processing and conservation of water. Appreciating the endeavour of CII for educating farmers on latest agro techniques, Mr. Badal said that farmers would have to turn smart marketers, who would be able to adjust their product portfolio according to the fast changing demand and supply equation in the international food market.
Mr. Badal said that the opening up of Wagah Border and giving a dry port status to Wagah by allowing export of 6000 goods could be a game changer for whole northern India as there would be a total paradigm shift with new this new development.Earlier Guest of Honour Mr. Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Finance Minister, Punjab called upon entrepreneurs to come out with technology for small and marginal farmers to increase their yield.Mr Jayant Davar, Deputy Chairman, CII Northern Region & Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Sandhar Technologies Ltdhighlighted that “CII Agro Tech 2012 achieved one of its primary objectives of focusing on Sustainable Agriculture and bringing farmers face-to-face with the latest state-of-the-art technologies both in terms of machinery as well as agri-best practices. It empowered them to look at the possibilities of moving up the value chain and ensure their long term prosperity. Enthused at the response generated from the farmers, 94 % of the exhibitors stated that they would exhibit at Agro Tech 2014, while 96% of the visitors shared their willingness to visit Agro Tech again in 2014”
Mr Hari S Bhartia, Chairman, CII Agro Tech 2012 shared that “The 4-day Agro Tech was visited by over 75,000 visitors including 35,000 farmers from a number of States from as far as Kerala in the South, Meghalaya in the East, Gujarat in the West and J&K in the North. The visiting farmers included women farmers from 13 states – Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Punjab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand & Uttar Pradesh. Agro Tech received International farmers’ delegations for the 1st time from Afghanistan, Australia, Nepal and The Netherlands. The farmers showed interest in large machines like combined harvesters, high powered tractors and also low cost agricultural machinery items. In addition, the farmers were also able to procure new varieties of high-yield seeds and learn about the latest agri-practices which could help them increase their yields, cut down on wastage and give a quantum jump to their incomes”.Mr Pikender Pal Singh, Regional Director, CII NR shared that “The other primary objective that Agro Tech successfully achieved was in terms of generating long term business for global and Indian companies, becoming a successful platform for a number of launches by them and facilitating the finalization of joint ventures/MOU between these companies. Over 6,000 business enquiries were generated with an estimated business potential of about Rs. 70 crores. About 216 new products were launched or displayed at Agro Tech 2012”.The Fair comprised nine concurrent International shows viz– Farm Services (agri-commerce technology); Farm Tech (Farm machinery and equipment); Food Expo (processed & packaged food); Food Tech (food processing technology, logistics & equipment) Good Earth (agricultural inputs and farming techniques); Implementex (Agri & Farm implements); Livestock Expo (livestock management); Sugar Tech (sugar co-generation and distillation, sugar manufacturing technology & equipment); and Water & Irrigation Management (Farm water resources management)..Besides the exposition, there were four international conferences in which the discussions included issues related to role of technology, dry land farming, crop diversification, food security, productivity, water management, farm level extension services, effective risk management & insurance and innovation in agriculture and farm mechanization. In addition, Kisan Goshtees which helped educate farmers on the latest techniques and inputs and also helped them link with corporates, were an important element of the Show.
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