The much awaited three-day Organics and Millets 2018, International Trade Fair will be held at Bengaluru Palace on Friday. The fair, billed as the largest congregation of India's organic community, will act as a platform for farmers, buyers, sellers and exporters of organic produce, and millets.
G. Sathish, Commissioner for Department of Agriculture, government of Karnataka, said they had confirmations from 225 companies for the exhibition, which will have 350 stalls.
Buyers from the U.S.A., Germany, Switzerland, U.A.E., South Korea, Uganda, China and Malaysia, apart from 20 large food or retail companies, have confirmed their participation, he said.
A separate farmers’ workshop will run throughout the event, covering various aspects of organic and millet cultivation, and market opportunities.
The Agriculture Department expects more than a lakh visitors and about 10,000 farmers. While more than 100 MoUs are expected to be signed between marketers and farmer groups, more than 500 business inquiries have already been generated for various farmer federations.
Karnataka has an early mover advantage by being the first State in India to formulate an organic policy in 2004 that seeks to cater to the entire organic value chain and signals the shift from conventional agriculture, which is increasingly becoming unsustainable. The policy evolved as the land under certified organic cultivation grew from 2500 Ha (2004) to 93,963 Ha, paving the way for the Karnataka Organic Policy 2017, an official said.
