The 34th Krishi Mela will be held in the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) in Dharwad from September 21 to 24. This year’s theme is `Agricultural technologies for management of climate change’. The university expects around 15 lakh visitors to the four-day fair.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inaugurate the Krishi Mela on September 22 at 10.30 am. He will present the best farmer and best farm-women awards. For the first time, UAS will enable farmers to register their names using QR codes.

UAS Vice-Chancellor P. L. Patil said that the main objective of this year’s Krishi Mela is to provide information on various aspects of climate change to farmers. Around 500 stalls, including 150 hi-tech, 214 economy, 110 agriculture machinery, 27 tractor and other heavy machineries and 28 food stalls, would be set up.

They would cover cropping systems for climate change management, integrated crop management, bio-fertilisers and biopesticides, oilseeds, pulses and rabi crops technologies, rainwater harvesting and ground water recharge, natural and organic farming, soil conservation, hi-tech horticulture, fruits and flowers show, the world of Insects, improved farm implements, Kisan Drones, and other issues.

UAS has obtained a licence from the government for mass production and sale of bio-fertilisers. During the Krishi Mela, 2,500 kg of different types of bio-fertilisers in powder form, 2,625 liters of liquid bio-fertilisers, and 1,665 kg of bio-pesticides will available for sale.

There shall be a start-up pavilion to showcase the innovative products and services. A total of 22 startups from Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, supported under RKVY-Innovation and Agri-preneurship programme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India, will participate, according to Prof. Patil.