By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 28 Jul: A 10member delegation led by Uttarakhand Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ganesh Joshi is on a 10-day visit to European countries. Six MLAs and departmental officers of the state are part of this delegation. During the tour, they will obtain information about modern techniques of organic farming with the aim of making Uttarakhand a leading state in the field. The delegation is on a visit to Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland from 25 July to 3 August to study the latest technologies being adopted for the development of organic agriculture. The delegation includes MLAs Pradeep Batra, Renu Bisht, Suresh Singh Gadia, Manoj Tiwari, Harish Dhami and Ram Singh Kaida.
During the visit, the delegation is also exploring possibilities for export of coarse grains produced in the state like Manduwa, Jhangora, Chaulai, etc.
An agreement has also been signed between IFOAM Organics International, an international organisation working in the field of organic agriculture in Germany, and the Government of Uttarakhand.
On this occasion, Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi greeted the representatives of IFOAM by wearing a traditional hill cap of Uttarakhand. Joshi said that this agreement will play an important role in the development of organic agriculture in Uttarakhand and encourage the movement. He said that Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France have made great progress in the field of agriculture. During the visit, discussions are being held on how the technologies developed in these countries can be used in the interest of Uttarakhand. On this occasion, Karen Mapusua, President of IFOAM Organics International, and Vice Presidents Choitresh Kumar Ganguly and Julia Lernaud participated in the program organised in Germany, along with the Agriculture Ministers of Karnataka and Sikkim and their delegations.
