Over 1.2L farmers attend Hisar varsity farm fair, seed worth Rs 2.49 cr sold

A two-day agricultural fair for Rabi season concluded at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) here on Monday. The theme of this year’s fair was ‘Natural Resource Management’.

Around 300 stalls were set up by various departments of the university and private companies to showcase new agricultural technologies.

Certified seeds of improved Rabi crop varieties and agricultural literature were made available to the farmers. Seeds worth Rs 2.49 crore were sold and 1.23 lakh farmers participated in the fair. Facilities for soil and water testing were also provided to the farmers. On the concluding day, HAU Vice Chancellor Prof BR Kamboj was the chief guest, while LUVAS Vice Chancellor Prof Vinod Kumar Verma was the guest of honour.

Addressing a gathering, Prof Kamboj said agricultural fairs for Rabi and Kharif crops are organised every year to provide farmers access to research innovations, latest technologies and high-quality seeds developed by scientists. He said to improve crop yields, farmers should use certified seeds, proper seed treatment, timely sowing, and apply fertilisers and pesticides as per recommendations.

He urged farmers to prioritise pulses and oilseeds over traditional crops to enhance their financial condition. Along with this, adopting animal husbandry, horticulture and fisheries can significantly boost their income. Stressing on agri-entrepreneurship, the VC said farmers must move towards entrepreneurship along with farming. A special ‘Question & Answer’ session was organised in the fair where farmers got solutions to their problems and interacted with agricultural scientists. Disease-free banana and sugarcane plants developed by tissue culture technique were also made available to the farmers.

Director of Extension Education, Dr Balwan Singh Mandal said the Rabi crop seeds, including wheat, barley, mustard, chickpea, fenugreek, lentil, berseem and oats, worth Rs 2.49 crore were sold in to the farmers.