The Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (Codissia) will organise Agri Intex, an agricultural fair, in Coimbatore from July 11 to 15.
According to M. Karthikeyan, president of the Association, the fair will be held for five days unlike previous years when it was for four days.
Dhinesh Kumar, chairman of the event, told the media in Coimbatore on Friday that the exhibition with about 490 exhibitors, including 220 new exhibitors, will be spread across four lakh sq.ft. One of the special features this year will be a pavilion by Korean agri machinery manufacturers (Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative). There will be participants from countries such as Singapore, Germany, France, and Sweden too.
With increasing use of technology in agriculture, the exhibits will include drones, solar pumps, automation in agri implements, and equipment suitable for farmers with small land holdings. Native cattle breeds will also be showcased.
There are plans to organise business-to-business meetings between overseas machinery manufacturers and the domestic manufacturers, he said.
“Drones are used widely in agriculture now and so there will be a display of drones. There will also be automation equipment that will benefit farmers who face labour shortage,” he said.
The exhibition, which expects about 1.5 lakh visitors, will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the entry fee for the public is ₹50 a person. Farmers will have to provide their identity card for free entry.
The exhibition will be inaugurated by Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICAR, New Delhi, in the presence of V. Geethalakshmi, Vice Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, and S.V. Balasubramaniam, chairman of Bannari Amman Group.
The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, will organise “Uzhave Thalai 6.0”, a conference on agriculture on July 13 as the part of the exhibition.
Chintala Govindarajulu, former chairman of NABARD, Mumbai, will be the chief guest for the seminar. For details, dial 9842221400, 9500853531, or 0422-2224000. The organisers appealed to the public to avoid bringing children below 12 years to the exhibition.
