The format of Krushi Mahotsav, the annual agricultural event, is in for a major change. The state government has decided to do away with the earlier practice of travelling to villages and meet the farmers. Instead, the farmers will come and attend the events which will be organised on taluka and region levels.

LC Patel, the Vadodara District Development Officer, said: “In region-level programmes, farmers from four different zones of the state will attend the event at agriculture universities where experts will guide them. In case of taluka-level programmes, Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) will hold seminars on new technology in agriculture and guide farmers.”

Patel said the objective of the Mahotsav is to increase agriculture production by encouraging farmers to adopt latest farm technology.

In the Mahotsav celebrated in the previous years, chief minister, ministers, secretaries of various departments, senior officers from agriculture, animal husbandry and horticulture departments and scientists from four agriculture universities of the state participated.

The ministers and secretaries would travel across the state to educate farmers about seeds, content of the soil, pesticides and the climate.

This format created a lot of problems for state administration as the entire state machinery was involved in the one month-long event.

According to the new format of the programme, scientists and experts instead of travelling to different villages will give presentations to farmers at universities.