A peak into the recently held International Agriculture Equipment and Food Processing Technology Trade Fair at Margao that brought together various organic products whilst also showcasing the upcoming farming technology available
BHARATI PAWASKAR
It was a heart-warming site at the recently held International Agriculture Equipment and Food Processing Technology Trade Fair at Ravindra Bhavan Margao to see farmers displaying their produce, agri-equipment manufacturing companies showcasing their machines and naturally grown, organic, rich in nutrients farm produce – all under one roof.
For all those who love naturally grown food and can be categorised as healthy, this was a place to purchase their yearly stock of chili powder, spices, brown rice, kokum syrup and sola, mango papad, urad papad, amla mava, cashew nuts, coconut oil, raw honey and much more. Most of these were home products, or produced at cottage industries in different villages of Goa. There were few vendors from outside Goa too, who had displayed their homemade items like soaps, oils, coconut scrappers, seeds of flowers and vegetables, compost, bulbs and even plants etc.
The exhibition, presented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Goa partnering with ICOBS International and Krishi Suvidha, had free entry and many Goans who visited Ravindra Bhavan for the weekend Tiatr shows and other programmes, had easy access to the inviting trade fair where they could make their healthy purchases.
Rajesh Desai from Atharva Agrovan Agencies, Ponda has solar fencing, medicines and pesticides, sprinklers, Patanjali cattle feeds and supplements, milking machine and farm equipment like cutters. Global Premium Indian Spices had home grown, organic black pepper, long, tamalpatra, pound red chili and garam masala as well as cashew nuts.
Suprajit Raikar, proprietor, Raika Honey, a Goan software engineer whose honey and honey products are now available on Amazon too, displayed various types of honey – including flora honey, raw organic honey comb, beehive and beekeeping supplies and organic fertilisers. He also offers beekeeping pollination service and beekeeping training programmes to schools, colleges and interested farmers. Badri Narayanan R’s Organic Garten, an online store sells everything organic, heirloom and seeds. Dip Direction (DD), a bore well digging firm too made its presence felt. Managed by Kiran Sawant Dessai, business head and geologist, this Sankhali based firm DD helps in bore well, geophysical survey and pumps. Aarthi R from Pushpavana Florist Nursery and Farm, a grower of cut flowers is into horticulture consultancy, landscape designing and import/export of planting material too.
Krishi Samrudhi Farmers Producers Company, a platform where farmers can come together and work collectively towards one purpose and that is the betterment of the farming community. The objective of this company is to organise the farmers into a collective group to improve their bargaining strength in the market and get maximum value of their produce.
Shubhankar Dutta Gupta, general manager (sales and marketing) at Agriplast Tech India Ltd had displayed crop shield, banana shield, fruit shield along with wide range of anti-insect nets, aluminets for different climatic conditions and greenhouse accessories like trellising twine, agriplast weed mat, insect net, tomato clip, curtain roll up, air circulating fan, liquid shading agent, film support strap etc. The banana net structure, vegetable net structure, top ventilated tunnel, and readymade tunnel are ideal for growing nursery plants, flowers, and vegetables. They are tailor-made and ensure optimal light penetration and top ventilation.
Most interesting among these was solar energy and solar products from Alterenergyz – which claims to be a one stop solution for waste management and renewable energy. It provides collection services for dry / E waste generates and has various financial models to suit the client’s needs. Treating waste ethically; complying with the regulations, the client is informed where the waste is finally disposed. They offer services like biomethanation, composting, dry waste collection, sewage water treatment, and sanitary pad incinerators. The Margao based company provides customised and scientific solutions to client specific needs with latest technology. They offer operation and maintenance services, turnkey solutions for the products, consultancy, and training services. “We also conduct waste audits,” informs Rolland D’mello.
Claiming to be the largest manufacturers of fish protein and fish oil derivatives, Janatha Agro Products from Kota, Udupi displayed crop protectors like fish oil based Jupitor Gold and sulphated fish oil, an additive for broad spectrum fungicide and insecticide that contained natural insecticide killing properties. It can kill aphid, citrus rush mites, spider mites, leaf miner, leaf roller, mealy bugs, psyllids, thrips and armoured scale which affect a wide variety of crops. Crop protector consists of a blend of fish oil and herbal extracts, and is suitable for use in organic farm production, as it is environmental friendly and safe for traditional agriculture. Janatha’s soil amendments are fish bone meal and fish soluble paste. Fish bone meal is a fine and coarsely ground fish bone used as an organic supplement rich in phosphorous, calcium and nitrogen. A slow releasing product that makes the nutrients available for a longer duration, it also helps in boosting root growth and faster absorption of water and nutrients through soil. Used in various fruit and vegetable farming, the fruit paste is used through fertigation as a pre-planting soil amendment. It is readily available nitrogen source when added to soil. “The exhibition was a success,” claimed Prashant Naik, chairman, Ravindra Bhavan Margao.
