Dr Satbir Singh Gosal was the Chief Guest of the occasion
Ludhiana: March 10, 2017: (Punjab Screen Bureau)::
A heavy inflow of farmers was witnessed at the Kisan Mela of Punjab Agricultural University held at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Nag Kalan-Jahangir, Amritsar on Friday March, 10, 2017. The theme of the Kisan Mela “PAU de beej beejo, sahaik dhande apnao, mandikaran suchaja karo, lekha jhokha lao” aims at guiding the farmers to sow improved seeds of PAU and adopt new production – protection technologies for various crops, to achieve success in farming.
Dr. Satbir Singh Gosal, Member, Board of Management, PAU was the Chief Guest of the occasion. The mela also saw the presence of Dr Pushpinder Singh Aulakh, Additional Director of Extension Education; Dr Sarvjeet Singh, Additional Director of Research (Crop Improvement) and Dr Dalbir Singh Chhina, Chief Agriculture Officer, Amritsar.
Teeming with more than a 100 stalls, the Kisan Mela served as a befitting platform for the quick redressal of agro-problems of farmers. An interactive question-answer session with PAU experts, live demonstrations and sale-purchase of quality seeds recommended by PAU were the chief highlights of the day. PAU varieties of vegetables, fruits and flowers were also discussed and emphasized upon by the scientists. A long queue was witnessed at the stall exhibiting various PAU farm publications.
Dr Aulakh, while welcoming the dignitaries and the farmers, called upon the farmers to follow PAU recommendations and also advised them to keep themselves abreast of the latest farming techniques and attend various trainings, organized at the 17 KVKs across Punjab from time to time.
In his address, Dr Gosal suggested the farmers to opt for hybrid seed production, go for soil testing, adopt subsidiary occupations such as beekeeping, mushroom cultivation, food processing etc., focus on cooperative marketing and mechanization and make use of fruit fly trap technology. He asserted that the rural women could also contribute significantly and help in raising substantial income by opting for allied agricultural occupations. He also stressed upon the need to purchase quality seeds from PAU which ensure improved yield and assured profit to farmers. Dr Gosal highlighted that PAU had developed more than 757 crop varieties out of which 150 have been recommended outside Punjab. He observed that the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, turmeric and sugarcane offers a good alternative and can reap benefits to the farmers of this area. Encouraging the farmers to go for cooperative marketing and use of farm machinery, he said that this could result in a 35 per cent cut in the input and labour costs. Dr Gosal also urged the gathering to maintain their proper farm records in order to earn profits and to reduce expenses. He called upon the farmers to conserve water and adopt resource conservation technologies, like laser land leveler, tensiometer, etc., developed by PAU. Reposing full faith in the farmers of Punjab, he motivated them to share their farm issues with the PAU experts, without any hesitation, at various KVKs. “Your feedback helps in devising the research programmes of PAU,” he added. Dr Gosal lauded the efforts of KVK Amritsar in the organization of the mela.
Dr Sarvjeet Singh, Additional Director Research highlighted the research priorities of PAU and told the farmers about recommended varieties of Paddy, Basmati, Summer Moong, Mash etc. He also informed the farmers about the recently developed/released varieties namely Punjab Basmati 4, Punjab Basmati 5 of Basmati; CoPb 92, CoPb 93 & CoPb 94 of Sugarcane and PR126 of Rice. He said that PAU’s research was focusing on judicious use of water and on developing heat tolerant varieties. He also advocated the use of biofertilisers and integrated pet management technologies.
Dr Dalbir Singh Chhina, Chief Agriculture Officer, Amritsar, appreciated the efforts of PAU in resolving the issues of farmers by devising effective research programmes. He highlighted the farmer-friendly services provided by the Government of Punjab. Dr Bhupinder Singh Dhillon, Associate Director, KVK Amritsar, proposed the vote of thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment