[PhotoSparks] Sustainable agriculture from farm to fridge: National Organic and Millets Trade Fair 2017

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In this photo essay, we showcase some of the innovation and entrepreneurship on display at the National Organic and Millets Trade Fair held in Bengaluru this weekend!

In the earlier 130 posts, we brought you a wide range of creative photographs from an art fair, world music festival, painting fair, telecom expo, art museum, mobile showcase, math museum, social hackathon, bookstore, co-working space, sensorium, international design week, flower show, outdoor ads, startup roadshow, computer museum, startup T-shirts, business cards, art therapy, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, Vesak, jazz festival, modern art gallery, ecopreneurs, painter-poets, health activists, eNGOs and digital innovators.

Tough times call for creative and collaborative solutions, especially when it comes to the environment, agriculture and nutrition. The National Organic and Millets Trade Fair, held in Bengaluru from April 28 to April 30 by the Karnataka government, brought together stakeholders ranging from farmers and suppliers to nutritionists and consumers to popularise millets. Pre-conference workshops were also held in the preceding week, on nutritional and culinary aspects of millets.

Awareness was raised across the board to appreciate the agricultural, economic and nutritional benefits of millets: low water footprints, ability to grow in arid areas, and high nutritional value. Favourable policies are needed as well, to make organics less expensive. Many farmers, especially in the state of Karnataka, have asked for better market linkages and price points rather than focusing only on subsidies.

Karnataka Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda announced that the agriculture department now has a specific policy for organic food cultivation, and set aside Rs 10 crore in funds for innovators on organics and millets. At the three-day fair, 20 MOUs were signed between farmers and eight companies, including online retailer Big Basket. At the national level, Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, also advocated support for aggregation and matchmaking between farmers, retailers and consumers.

The National Trade Fair included many business dialogue sessions as well as creative features such as a Dream Tree, displays of the wide range of millets, sales of related products such as bags made from organic fibre, a cake competition, and even a children’s painting contest. As shown in this photo essay featuring pictures taken by the YourStory team, art blended with analytics in a powerful message to the audience: what you eat and stock in your fridge can be traced back literally to the roots of our farming practices, and sustainability is the key to a better future for us all. So what have you done today to take part in the millet movement?

(Photos by R Raja)

Got a creative photograph to share? Email us at [email protected]!

See also the YourStory pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups,’ accessible as apps for Apple and Android devices.