NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked the agriculture ministry to assess if the annual agri-science fair (Krishi Unnati Mela) is benefitting the farming community or not.
He also said such agri-fairs should be organised in remote rural places for better dissemination of farm technologies and government programmes.
Addressing the three-day mela held in the Pusa complex here, Modi said: "There should be an analysis of the impact of such melas.What has been the impact on farmers and if they have learned from mela -- such analysis will be of help."
The study on impact of this mela will help in future, he added. The Prime Minister appealed to the visiting farmers to spend more time at the fair and learn about new farming technologies.
"Take back home what you learnt from here and share it with fellow farmers in your village."
He asked farmers to visit the pavilion on bee-keeping and learn more about the value-added products and its price being quoted in the international market.
"It is not just honey, many other products are made.You should go and see," he said.
Similarly on Farmers Producers Organisation (FPOs), he asked farmers to visit the pavilion and learn how to set up such organisations and its benefits. Modi had addressed the fair last time in 2016.
Thousands of farmers from across India visited the second day of the Krishi Unnati Mela today.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma as also Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Ministers of State for Agriculture -- Parshottam Rupala, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Krishna Raj -- were present at the event.
More than 600 stalls have been put up to showcase the latest farm technologies and also government programmes to boost farm output and farmers' income.