Karnataka to organise trade fair on organics, millets

The Karnataka government will be organising the Organics & Millets International Trade Fair 2018 in Bengaluru in January to promote organics and millets, billed as the future smart foods.

The state's Department of Agriculture conducted a roadshow in Hyderabad on Tuesday as part of its efforts to promote the event, scheduled to be held from January 19 to 21.

Karnataka Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the fair will bring farmers, marketers and consumers on a single platform.

He claimed that Karnataka is the first state to take the 'Organic and Millet' message to the rest of the country and sought support from the neighbouring states.

"We have to reacquaint ourselves with millets. Incorporating this crop in our diet is the panacea for most of the health crisis that we face today," he said.

Gowda said the Agriculture Department was on a relentless mission for the last four years to spread the message.

The roadshows are being conducted in different parts of the country to bring together farmers, agri-entrepreneurs, retailers, consumers and government bodies to promote smart food.

The trade fair is a global conference and exposition on the vista of opportunities waiting to be explored in agriculture, horticulture, processing and marketing.

It serves as an important confluence of all stakeholders - farmers, buyers, sellers and exporters of organic produce and millets - for the promotion of trade, as well as sharing of information and knowledge about organic agribusiness.

According to the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), which has partnered with Karnataka, over the last decade organic agriculture has seen significant growth in India with the market poised to reach over $1.5 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) by 2020.

The Organics & Millets National Trade Fair held in Bengaluru in April this year saw the signing of 16 MoUs and business potential worth Rs 100 crore for farmers and the launch of the organic policy.

Senior officials from Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, ICRISAT, Indian Institute of Millet Research and National Institute of Nutrition attended the roadshow.

--IANS

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