New Delhi [India], December 30 (ANI): The twin pillars of the Indian agricultural ecosystem, which include the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), successfully concluded the landmark exhibition AGRI EXPO at Dilli Haat.
Featuring more than 140 farmers from 52 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) representing 21 different states of India, the event was organised at Delhi’s premium marketplace, Dilli Haat, INA, from December 27 to 29.
The event provided a wonderful opportunity for FPOs to showcase their authentic organic agricultural products.
In his inaugural address, SS Vaseeharan, GM, OIC, NABARD, New Delhi RO, welcomed all the participants and highlighted the efforts and achievements of FPOs in transforming the agricultural landscape of India.
He encouraged the farmers to manufacture products as per the demands of end consumers.
The exhibition was graced by various dignitaries, including Rakesh Ranjan, Special Secretary, MoA&FW; Dr Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, IAS, MD, SFAC, Archana Varma, Mission Director, National Water Mission, Niharika Rai, Secretary, Tourism, GNCT of Delhi, Shubha Thakur, Joint Secretary, MoA&FW, Franklin L. Khobung, Joint Secretary, MoA&FW, Vishal Singh, Chairman, NCCF among other senior officials.
A dedicated section showcased innovative agricultural practices, technologies, and products from NABARD-supported agri-startups like Krishi Tantra and Unnati.
Besides this, NABARD subsidiaries, viz., NABKISAN, NABSanrakshan and NABFoundation, also exhibited their offerings during the AGRI EXPO.
The exhibition featured FPOs representing a diverse range of agricultural products from different regions of India.
The visitors lapped up the opportunity to buy organic products like millets, jaggery, cow ghee, cardamom, atta, saffron, dry fruits and spices right at their doorstep, thus infusing new energy among farmers.
All of the FPOs benefited from the exhibition in terms of their products receiving national prominence.
The event provided ample networking opportunities for farmers, policymakers, investors, and other stakeholders to connect and explore potential B2B and B2C collaborations to increase farmer revenues.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare also facilitated the collaboration of FPOs with corporates for bulk procurement.
As part of the ongoing commitment to revolutionising agricultural commerce, the exhibition highlighted a significant development: the onboarding of several farmer-producer organisations (FPOs) onto the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform.
The visitors to the exhibition expressed their enthusiasm about the availability of these agri-products through the ONDC platform, which will enable them to buy these authentic products at the click of a button.
A session was organised to highlight the importance of packaging and labelling to the FPOs, which was chaired by Shri Ashutosh Upadhyay, Professor at the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM). The session was appreciated by the farmers and they resolved to incorporate the learnings into the packaging of their products.
The farmers from 52 FPOs expressed their exuberance at the successful conclusion of AGRI EXPO, thus reaffirming NABARD’s commitment to promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development. (ANI)
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