BY ROQUE DIAS | NT

PONDA: For resurrecting agriculture and turning it into a viable profit-earning proposition, the Goa Bagayatdar Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Saunstha Maryadit, (GBSKVSM) has set its eyes on foreign markets in order to create more marketing avenues for the locally-grown agricultural products and to provide boost to the farmers.

With this aim, the GBSKVSM will be organising for the first time in the state, an international workshop on August 25 at Gopal Ganapati hall, Farmagudi basically for exchange of ideas and to explore the possibilities of entering global markets.

This workshop - ‘Linking agriculture producers to the export market’ - is being organised in association with the Centre for International Trade in Agriculture and Agro-based Industries (CITA) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Speaking to ‘The Navhind Times’ the chairman of GBSKVSM, Mr Narendra Savoikar said, "This is for the first time that the organisation has decided to hold workshop in the state and especially at Ponda, which is rich in agriculture. Senior economic affairs officer of UNCTAD, Geneva, Mr Bonapas Onguglo and director of CITA, Mr B D Pawar will be the resource persons."

Mr Savoikar further said that the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat will inaugurate the workshop. "The idea came up when a couple of directors of CITA had been in Goa at the Goa Bagayatdar office and were discussing about marketing of the state’s agricultural products. These experts pointed out that there are a variety of vegetables available in the state which are grown naturally and which could be marketed abroad," Mr Savoikar said.

He said Goa is one of the strategically important states with its rich flora and fauna. Many exotic vegetables like asparagus, baby corn, coloured capsicum, broccoli, sweet corn and zucchini are grown in and around the state and are fulfilling the demand of the foreign tourists visiting the state.

Many of the state’s indigenous vegetables, especially the tadkula, kartule, shepu, tere, komb, fagal, karande, akur, suran, mahan and lute are not cultivated but grow naturally in the rainy season and many local farmers ignore the importance of these vegetables. "The workshop will certainly help all the players. We have invited several agencies, which are directly or indirectly involved in the business, to take maximum benefits of it," Mr Savoikar said.

Urging the farmers to attend the workshop, Mr Savoikar said that the Goa government is keen on changing the farming scenario in the state with the use of high-end technology. "The proposed workshop will create awareness about various aspects of farming and export markets, which will help in preparation of a road map for infrastructure creation," he said.