IIHR’s three-day national horticultural fair set to begin from March 5

The fair themed on “Nextgen technology led horticulture for sustainable development” will feature cutting edge technologies in horticultural sector

A file photo of a previous edition of the fair. The Indian Institute of Horticultural Research fair will begin at its Hessarghatta premises on the outskirts of Bengaluru.   | Photo Credit: HANDOUT E MAIL

The Garden City is set to showcase premier technologies in the horticulture sector as the three-day national horticultural fair-2024 of the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) on the theme “Nextgen technology led horticulture for sustainable development” will begin at its Hessarghatta premises on the outskirts of Bengaluru from Tuesday.

The fair will showcase the country’s most advanced and recent technologies in the sector such as smart irrigation, controlled environment management, vertical farming, ways of optimising use of resources for boosting crop yield, environment-friendly practices for sustainable horticulture, and digital horticulture.

For the State farmers and urban horticulture enthusiasts who are struggling to deal with summer water shortage, the fair will offer water conserving technologies that can be adopted in horticulture.

The fair will also showcase a technology that provides for the increased shelf life of fresh-cut fruits for nearly three months with minimum processing. The disease-resistant chilly hybrid variety of the IIHR that was released recently will also be on display.

The main intention of the fair is to not only boost the income of farmers by turning horticulture into an industry, but to also ensure that the country gets quality supply of horticultural produce. This is also an effort to attract the youth, particularly encourage educated youth to take to horticulture.

In addition to this, hands-on training as well as workshops on urban horticulture, soil-less cultivation, terrace gardening, hi-tech horticulture, value addition and waste utilisation of flowers, farm/kitchen waste composting and home-scale package and storage of fresh fruits and vegetables have also been organised for those interested in horticulture.

The fair will also feature an exhibition, through over 250 stalls of various ICAR institutes, State Agricultural Universities, FPOs, NGOs and entrepreneurs showcasing latest technologies related to horticulture.

The IIHR is expecting an estimated 50,000 farmers and other stakeholders from across the country to visit the fair.

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Arjun Munda will inaugurated the fair.