Technology and Machinery Demonstration Mela organized
A Kisan mela for “Technology and Machinery demonstration Mela” was organized at Division of Agricultural Engineering, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region,Umiam for field demonstration of improved agricultural implements and machinery, plastic lined water harvesting pond, low cost poly house and post-harvest technologies on 21st March, 2018. The activities in the mela included display and live demonstration of improved farm implements & machinery suitable for hill agriculture, use of plastic in agriculture (poly-house and pond lining) and processing & value addition of the agricultural produce. A total of 160 numbers of farmers from different villages of Ri Bhoi District, Meghalaya participated in the mela. Farmers were happy to witness and learn about improved technologies during live demonstration of the machines like mini-tiller, power tiller & its different attachments, grass/brush cutter, manual seed drill, vertical conveyer reaper, zero tillage row maker, winnower, weeder, pedal paddy thresher, zero till furrow opener, adjustable row marker, maize sheller, horticultural tools etc. Farmers also have shown keen interest for adoption of plastic lining of water harvesting pond and low cost poly-house for off-season cultivation of vegetables and flowers. Furthermore, processing machinery such as turmeric grinding machine, dehuller machine, ginger grinding machine, banana fibre extractor machine, etc. were also demonstrated to the farmers. The mela was inaugurated by Dr. Narendra Prakash, Director, ICAR NEH. He urged the farmers to adopt improved technology for reducing cost of cultivation and increasing production and productivity.
