The State Department of Agriculture will organise the much-awaited annual Organics and Millets International Trade Fair in the city from January 18 to 20.
“This time, the flagship event will revolve around the theme: K-Source, celebrating the State of Karnataka as the source for Next Gen Smart Foods,” said N.H. Shivashankara Reddy, Agriculture Minister, at a curtain-raiser on Friday.
The event is mainly for farmers, buyers, sellers and exporters of organic produce and millets. Over 250 exhibitors are expected to participate occupying an exhibition space of 10,000 square metres, including stalls from other States, countries, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and several farmer federations from Karnataka.
International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA) will be the knowledge partner for the event, the Minister said.
Pointing out that the second edition of the event will be the largest congregation of India’s organic and millets community, the Minister said, “Through this event, we want to emphasise the positioning of Karnataka as the organics and millets capital of India. We will be conducting roadshows in Coimbatore, Pune and New Delhi to create awareness about the event, and encourage participation.”
District-level melas will also be conducted across the State. This apart, roadshows will be conducted abroad to rope, he said.
The event will address all aspects of the value chain, from farm to shelf, and provides the perfect launch pad to position Karnataka as not only a source for Next Gen Smart Foods and businesses, but also a source of Next Gen customers, Next Gen markets and a source of new opportunities, the Minister added.
Maheshwar Rao, Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture, said the previous edition saw footfalls of around 1 lakh visitors, including farmers, students, scientists, businessmen and the general public.
