Krishi Mela 2024 to empower farmers with climate-resilient crops, cutting-edge tech in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The annual Krishi Mela 2024 is set to begin on November 14 at Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra (GKVK) with the theme, “Climate-Smart Digital Agriculture”.

The festival will showcase four new crop varieties and present numerous exhibitions and demonstrations of the latest agricultural technologies. Visitors can witness demonstrations of eight digitally powered machines, including a multispectral drone, agricultural drone, robotic farming machine, colour sorter, automatic fertiliser spreader, depth-regulation rotavator, automatic boom sprayer, and solar-powered bird scarer.

A 10-acre display area featuring 52 crop varieties will provide farmers with insights into effective farming techniques for improved yields, said Dr SV Suresha, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agricultural Sciences.

Dr Suresha explained that the fair aims to equip farmers with advanced farming techniques to reduce crop failure risks posed by unpredictable weather and climate change. Also, the event seeks to ease investment burdens for farmers by introducing cost-effective technologies and equipping them with skills for marketing and selling their produce.

The four-day event will also feature exhibits and demonstrations on integrated farming systems, suitable cropping methods, sericulture, horticulture, precision agriculture, medicinal and aromatic plants, cereals, watershed management, pest control, hydroponics, and cutting-edge IT in agriculture.

Outstanding achievements in agriculture will be recognised with state-, district-, and taluk-level awards for 146 farmers, including women.

The event, which will be on till November 17, will also host discussions and debates on various agricultural topics, with both farmers and experts participating as speakers.