Agri-industrial fair: Networking for farmers, entrepreneurs

Farmers, women artisans displayed their products at the exhibition which was organised by the State Bank and SME.


Muhammad Sadaqat April 12, 2012

HARIPUR:


An agricultural and industrial exhibition was held to provide farmers and entrepreneurs an opportunity to network in Haripur campus of Hazara University on Tuesday.


Farmers from across Hazara, women artisans and financial institutions displayed their products at the exhibition which was organised by the State Bank and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME).

There was an extraordinary rush of visitors around women artisans exhibiting embroidered items, toys, floral pots and other handicrafts.

“I just can’t believe how skilled women artisans are. Phulkari (needlework) on khaddar with silk is exquisitely designed and this piece of art deserves to be exhibited at the national and international level” said Fauzia Hashmat a working woman from Islamabad, who claimed to have bought four suits for her family.

However, not every visitor was as enthusiastic.

“There was no touch of local culture except stalls exhibiting local seeds and fruits, said Abdul Bari, a local farmer.

Naveed Khan, a banker said there was no stall guiding farmers on the proper use of fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, and crop rotation or even how to apply for loans.

Dr Iftikhar who was representing farmers from Mansehra, said the exhibition failed to encourage them to display their products and techniques.

“I have not seen local farmers present vegetables, fruits the way they should have been or share farming methods we have been employing for centuries.”

The exhibition aimed to develop market linkages and introduce new techniques, said Farheen Abid a junior director at SBP.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.

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