The Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today visited the site at Baba Banda Singh Bahadur War Memorial to oversee the arrangements of the upcoming Progressive Punjab Agriculture Summit (PPAS) to be held here from February 16-19, where nearly 50,000 farmers from across the country and abroad are expected to attend this first ever mega event in the state.
As many as ten Chief Ministers from various states and other senior national leaders of different political parties besides top agriculture experts were expected to attend the function on the inaugural day of the Summit, to set the agenda on several issues confronting farmers and farming in India.Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that Mr. Badal reviewed the arrangements on the spot with the senior officers of the state’s civil and police administration so that this historic Agriculture Summit was organized successfully especially to benefit the farmers of the country to learn from each others’ experience in their varied fields of interest in agriculture and allied farming with a thrust on crop persification.
The Chief Minister was apprised that the entire Summit has been planned to be held 135 acres of land where apart from exhibition, seminars and technical sessions on various aspects of agriculture with a special focus on the emerging technologies and strategies in agriculture would be organized to keep the farming community abreast with the modern farming practices and technological advancements through detailed deliberations by the Agri-experts, technocrats and progressive farmers.
Mr. Badal stressed on the need to ensure comfortable stay of the farmers besides transportation facilities to them so that they could attend the Summit in a hassle free manner. The Chief Minister also asked the Financial Commissioner Development to invite the leading world class agriculture equipment/machinery manufacturing companies to display their products in the exhibition so that the farmers could be immensely benefited. The Chief Minister also informed that nearly 250 livestock would be exhibited, which have won awards/prizes in National championships during the last five years.
Mr. Badal said since Punjab was a leading state in the agriculture and it should be our endeavor to encourage the countrywide farmers to make use of latest farm practices to enhance their productivity both qualitatively and quantitatively besides opting for agriculture persification through allied farming by holding such Agriculture Summits regularly. He was confident that the forthcoming Summit would prove to be a milestone in evolving a blue print to put our conventional agriculture on a hi-tech track besides transforming the destiny of our millions of farmers especially the small and marginal ones by turning their fortunes.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rajiv Bali, the Chairman of the PHD Chamber of Commerce, Punjab Chapter being the partner of the summit briefed the Chief Minister about the logistics of the event. Later, the Chief Minister visited the Ultra-Modern Fruits & Vegetables Air Conditioned Market constructed by Mandi Board at a cost of Rs. 50 crore in Sector-65 A, Mohali.The Chief Minister was accompanied by his Principal Secretary Mr. SK Sandhu, Special Principal Secretary Mr. Gaggandip Singh Brar, FCD Mr. Suresh Kumar, Special Secretary Agriculture Mr. KS Pannu, Vice Chairman Punjab Mandi Board Mr. Ravinder Pal Singh Cheema, Co-Chairmen PHD Chamber of Commerce Mr. Mr. RS Sachdeva and Mr. Pranav Gupta.