Chhattisgarh Finance Minister Shri OP Choudhary 01/03/2024 inaugurated the three-day FPO fair organized by NABARD by cutting the ribbon at Indira Gandhi Agricultural University. During this, Dharsiwa MLA Mr. Anuj Sharma, Lundra MLA Mr. Prabodh Minj, Vice Chancellor of Agricultural University Mr. Girish Chandel and Chief General Manager of NABARD Mr. Gyanendra Mani were also present. Through this fair, farmers across the state will be able to get information related to the sale and marketing of their products and will move towards strengthening their financial position by gaining knowledge of new technology, adding value to their products and creating new FPOs. FPO i.e. Farmer Producer Organization is emerging as an effective mechanism to convert smallholder agriculture into a viable agri-business and increase the net income especially of small and marginal farmers. In the field of food production in Chhattisgarh, 57 FPOs are engaged in various activities like production of food grains, fruits, vegetables and spices. In order to further increase the number of these FPOs and through them, farmers across the state can make agriculture a profitable business, hence NABARD is organizing a three-day FPO fair at Indira Gandhi Agricultural University. In this, 46 FPOs from across the state are participating with their products. Addressing the FPO fair, Shri OP Chaudhary said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has talked about making India a developed state by the year 2047. This is possible only when Chhattisgarh also becomes developed from developing. For this, the government of Chief Minister Shri Vishnudev Sai has talked about Amritkaal: Chhattisgarh Vision / 2047 in the budget, which will be launched on November 1, 2024. He said that there is a lot of potential for development in areas like Bastar and Surguja and for this there is a provision for DDP i.e. Decentralized Development Projects in the budget. He said that for this we will have to promote technology and that is why a provision of Rs 266 crore has been made in this budget to promote technology. Shri OP Chaudhary said that the work of FPO with the support of NABARD is going very well and considering the immense potential within it, there is a need to include fisheries in it also. Shri OP Chaudhary said that agriculture is today's need and a very powerful medium for enhancing livelihood. He said that as a farmer himself, he is cultivating banana, coconut, jackfruit, sapota and white sandalwood and is pursuing it as a business. He said that the youth are studying agriculture. These youth should make maximum use of the emerging possibilities in the coming times so that by linking agriculture with technology, they can improve the economy of the state and the country and also provide new employment opportunities. The youth should try to move towards self-employment by investing their confidence, knowledge and time. Shri OP Chaudhary said that scientists are continuously discovering new varieties of farming, along with this, educationists have also been teaching the youth about farming for years, in such a situation, these educationists should also convey their knowledge to the fields and farmers. So that it becomes easier to convert agriculture into a commercial form and farmers can also get maximum benefits. It is noteworthy that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has announced the Central Sector Scheme (CSS) for the formation and promotion of 10 thousand FPOs in the country. NABARD is one of its implementing agencies. FPOs have also been linked with online selling agencies so that their products can reach far in less time and bring urban buyers closer to the farming community.