Startups to be in focus at Krishi Mela in Karnataka

BENGALURU: Krishi Mela, which is set to take place from November 3-6, will witness the dominance of startups. While the mela, organised by the University of Agricultural Sciences, will feature several crop varieties, new equipment, farm animals and awards, which is included in the mela usually, this year will also be dedicated to ‘startups in agriculture.

To highlight the importance of startups, talks will be organised where leaders from the community of agricultural startups will participate to create awareness of the initiatives that have been undertaken in the agriculture sector.

There will also be three talks as part of the ‘forum by farmers to farmers. The talks will focus on post-harvest technology, startups in agriculture and organic/natural farming, with speakers from agricultural startups across the state.

This will include RootsGoods, a startup from Shivamogga, which has created a platform to help farmers and customers negotiate prices for their crops as well as conduct quality assurance checks, and Beegle Agritech, a specialised farming intelligence startup that focuses on providing analytics through drone data collection.

In addition to the regular pavilions set up at the mela, this year will also feature a massive pavilion
dedicated specifically to startups in the state. Awards will also be handed out at the state level, district level and taluk level, including the Dr R Dwarkeenath Best Extension Worker Award, which is being awarded to Dr Rajegowda, head and senior scientist of Krishi Vignana Kendra in Kandli Hassan district.

In total, around 700 stalls will be set up at the mela, exhibiting numerous farming equipment, crop varieties and businesses.