HAU kisan mela concludes

The two-day Kisan Mela organised at Haryana Agriculture University concluded today,amidst protest by farmers against the increase in prices of BT cotton seeds.

The farmers alleged that the seeds were being sold at an “exorbitant price”,but the protest subsided when member,Planning Commission,Gurbachan Thind,assured that he would take up the matter with the authority concerned in the Union Ministry of Agriculture. He also promised easier availability of the seeds.

HAU officials said that 29,000 farmers visited the mela.

In an encouraging development,participation of women farmers was higher than last year. They showed keen interest in modern farming techniques,which consume less time and energy.

Sushmita,one of the women farmers,said “We visited the mela to know about modern technology and buy quality seeds,which are no easily available in the market.” More than 300 soil and water samples were tested during the mela.