A three-day expo on agriculture, Agri Summit 2015, hosted by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in association with the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, opened in the city on Friday.
The expo, with over 70 stalls, showcases the latest technologies in agriculture and brings under one roof various research institutions and manufacturers of agricultural equipment and inputs for the benefit of farmers. Agricultural equipment such as paddy transplanters, harvesters, and solar devices were on display at the expo.
Inaugurating the summit, K. Ramasamy, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, called upon farmers to regain their confidence and be assured that if only they protected land and water resources, they could still meet the food requirement of the country.
The country’s farmers were responsible for increasing the grain production from 55 lakh tonnes at the time of Independence to over 260 million tonnes now. Although the farm sector had been facing problems, such shortage of labour and poor returns, their lands had not failed them and agriculture could still be made an attractive option for youngsters. There was a need to protect land and water resources and farmers should desist from indiscriminate application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, he said.
P. Pandiarajan, Dean, Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute, emphasised the need for making agriculture attractive for educated youth and urged farmers to strive to make agriculture a profitable business venture for them.
A. Afzal, Executive Committee member, SICCI, said that accelerating agricultural growth was a major challenge in the wake of the slowdown in the sector. Rapid urbanisation, damage to water and land resources and fluctuations in prices were affecting the sector. Stakeholders had to evolve appropriate strategies to ensure sustainable agriculture and achieve food security, he said.
S. Raghavan, Secretary, SICCI, spoke.
The expo, under way at St. John’s Vestry Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School grounds, will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. till Sunday.
