CHANDIGARH, Dec 4: Touted as India's foremost farm show, Agro Tech `98 appears to have failed to completely satisfy the farmers. Many of them - mostly small and medium farmers - felt that the farm show was focussing largely on the needs of entrepreneurs and farmers with large holdings, ignoring their requirements.Said Dakshan Singh, a medium farmer from Ludhiana: "No doubt, the farm show is grand but I could not find anything really interesting or new to help me in my farming". He said that he went around the fair to look for implements but there was nothing that met his requirements.Echoing his views, D. S. Gill from Fatehgarh Sahib said the fair was totally a commercial affair, where the companies were more interested in marketing tie-ups and joint ventures than interacting with the farmers. "I was interested in buying sprinklers for my farmhouse but they were too busy talking with executives of a multinational company. I waited for a few minutes but then left," he said.There were several others who complained about the lack of interaction as companies vied with each other to sell their products. "The farmers real concerns seem to be of no interest to anybody. All the stalls at the fair are offering either much too sophisticated products or offering new versions of old products. It's like offering old wine in a new bottle," said Sarabjit Singh, another farmer.Gurinder Singh from Jallandhar found the fair an interesting place to visit but did not find too much in it.
