Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate 'Krishi Unnati Mela' this weekend

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate a three-day 'Krishi Unnati Mela’ starting March 16 with a focus on doubling farmers’ income.

The fair will be held at the Pusa campus in the national capital. Modi will also give away Krishi Karman Awards to states and progressive farmers who have made outstanding contribution in the field of agriculture.

According to the sources, Modi will visit the theme pavilion and address farmers on March 17.

It may be recalled that the prime minister in 2016 had inaugurated the mela and had called for steps to conserve water and asked farmers to focus on crop diversification and go for allied activities like dairy, poultry and food processing to boost their income.

At that time the country’s agriculture output had hit badly due to back-to-back droughts. However the situation this year is different. Despite bountiful rains and likely record foodgrain production, farmers are in distress as they are not getting even the MSP. As a result, farmers in several states including, Maharashtra are protesting.

In this backdrop, the fair assumes significance as sources said that the prime minister will address farmers to boost their confidence and offer solution to the current problem.

The mela, being organised by Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), will have live demonstration of agriculture and horticultural crops, animal husbandry, innovative technologies and farm mechanisation in big plots. Both public and private companies will display their farm inputs and technologies in over 200 stalls.