A three-day national convention on Organic Farming supported by both Haryana and Punjab Governments as well as the Chandigarh Administration would begin here on Saturday. The 5th National Organic Farming Convention to be organised by Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI), National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training (NITTTR), Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) and Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM) in NITTTR Campus in Sector-26 is expected to have the participation of nearly 2,000 organic farmers from across India, in addition to hundreds of scientists, policy-makers, media representatives and farm activists.

The convention will be inaugurated by Manohar lal, Chief Minister of Haryana with Om Parkash Dhankar, Agriculture Minister, Haryana and Vijay Dev, Advisor, Chandigarh Administration being the Special Guests of Honour. The concluding session will have Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab as the Chief Guest.

“This is a Convention that seeks to combine celebration around organic lifestyles with that of mutual learning and sharing amongst farmers, policy-makers and scientists. This convention will show to the world the best knowledge and capabilities that India has on this front. Organic farming is the need of the hour and this is more so in the case of Northern States,” said Dr Claude Alvares, Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI). 

On March 1, Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister for Women & Child Development, will take part in the function and release various new publications. The second and third day of the convention (March 1 and 2) will also have a scientific conference as part of the convention, organised by Society of Agro-Ecology, India.

The convention will also celebrate organic farming through a Nature Festival, which will include a Kisan Haat or Farmers’ Market, Urban Organic Gardening workshops for Chandigarh citizens, an organic food festival featuring authentic organic cuisine from various regions of India, a Kisan Panchayat to create a dialogue space between urban consumers and farmers, a biodiversity festival featuring thousands of heirloom seed varieties and cultural programmes including a solo performance by famous singer Rabbi Shergill.