Agri Expo, Organic Fair to be held

KOCHI: The fourth edition of the India International Food and Agri Expo along with the India Organic Fair 2011, jointly organised by the Foundation for Organic Agriculture and the Rural Development and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), will be held from November 26 to 28 at Gokulam Convention Centre, Kaloor. NABARD Thiruvananthapuram chief general manager K C Shashidar will inaugurate both the events which will be open to the public from 10 am to 8 pm.The organisers said that the events will provide a platform for traders and service providers, from India and aboard, to showcase their products, modern technologies, new concepts, innovations in agriculture and agro-machineries. “Organically produced spices, coffee, cocoa, coconut, cashew, rice, agricultural products and value-added products will be the focus of this year’s expo,” the organisers said.The exhibitors include farmers’ group, farmers’ organisations, agri-entrepreneurs, retailers, retail chains, planting material suppliers, agro-machinery manufacturers, agriculture input suppliers, Central and state government departments, financial institutions, service providers, certification agencies, farm-eco tourism entrepreneurs, NGOs and research institutes. Seminars will be held on topics like organic spices, aquaculture, organic coconut-cocoa based farming system, post-harvest handling and processing and market linkages. Also, the expo will arrange a buyer-seller meet on organic spices and fruits and vegetables.