Krishak Mela 2022 concludes at SKUAST-Jammu

Krishak Mela 2022, which was organized at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu (SKUAST-Jammu), successfully concluded on November 21. 

Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), graced the occasion on the concluding day and interacted with farmers, entrepreneurs, start-ups and common visitors in the Mela Ground. He appreciated the efforts of the university for organizing such a mega event which was a mix of ideas, knowledge, innovation and entertainment.

During his address, Dr Mehta was optimistic that in the coming years, SKUAST-Jammu would be one of the leading and premier agricultural institutions of the country. He stressed the need for convergence between academia and farmers. He also appealed to the students and scientists to take the technology generated in the laboratory to the farmer’s field. He motivated the farmers to adopt technologies generated by the university to increase their income.

Dr Mehta informed the house that the target of rejuvenating 75 ponds in every district had been successfully achieved in a record time. He felicitated the panchayats which had rejuvenated the community ponds of their area and also the best-maintained lawns, parks and roof gardens of Jammu.

Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary, Financial Commissioner, Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare Department, also graced the occasion and congratulated Vice Chancellor Prof. JP Sharma for the successful completion of the fair as it was an amalgamation of diverse institutes, universities, development departments, banks, NABARD, schools, colleges, etc. that exhibited their technologies and products to the visitors including farmers. He expressed happiness that this fair was an ideal platform for start-ups, FPOs and SHGs to showcase their products and make inroads into the general public.

Dulloo said that Kisan Khidmat Centres were actively instrumental in J&K for providing all types of services and technical support to the farmers. He hoped that in the near future these would serve as one-stop shops for the farming community.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. JP Sharma congratulated all the farmers, agri-preneurs, NGOs, government departments, KVKs, research stations, start-ups, different divisions of the University, private companies, etc. for their active participation in Krishak Mela 2022. He informed the house that during the five-day-long fair, products and technologies were displayed on 265 stalls and 14,000 visitors attended it.

Prof. JP Sharma signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) for SKUAST-Jammu with the Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) and Manukrishi respectively. Dr MJ Khan was the signatory from ICFA and Mansi Sharma from Manukrishi.

The vote of thanks was presented by Dr SK Gupta, Director Extension, and the proceedings were conducted by Dr Vinod Gupta, Professor, Agril. Ext. Education, and Dr Punit Choudhary, Chief Scientist and Head, KVK, Jammu.