Around 18,000-20,000 people visited the National Horticulture Fair (NHF) 2024, which was inaugurated on Tuesday, March 5, at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) — Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR).
More than 250 stalls showcasing various innovations and technologies in the horticulture sector have been set up at the three-day fair while 238 live demos of IIHR technologies are also being presented. Farmers from 20 states, 50 ICAR institutes and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK), and many other government organisations, NGOs, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) and start-ups are participating in the fair.
Along with varieties of seeds, fertilisers, and other agricultural equipment, horticultural products like millet breakfast bars, jackfruit cookies, tender coconut milkshakes were also exhibited at the stalls.
Visitors found the fair to be quite informative and diverse. Vinod Sundaram, a regular at agricultural fairs and also an organic farmer said, “For the first time, I am seeing stalls from so many different States — from Sikkim to Andaman and Nicobar. There is quite a lot of information about the species in different regions and how we can grow them here.”
Prabhakar Bhat, who grows arecanut and other crops in Mangaluru, was a first-timer at NHF. “I am here to gather information as this is a good place to understand various advanced technologies and innovations so that we can use it for our crops,” he said.
As many as 12 progressive farmers, including five from the Northeastern hill region, four entrepreneurs, five FPOs, and five KVK officials were felicitated for their contributions to the horticulture sector during the inaugural ceremony.
