PANAJI, 23 June 2021: In commemoration of India's 75 years of Independence as Bharat Ka Amrut Mahotsav, ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute, Goa conducted webinar on VEGFAST technology to increase vegetable production in coastal regions recently.

The webinar was presented by Dr Sukhwinder Singh, Principal Scientist, ICAR-CPRS, Jalandhar (Punjab).

The VEGFAST technology is one of the trademark technology for urban gardening developed by ICAR-Central Potato Research Station, Jalandhar.

This promising technology has tremendous scope in the state of Goa, where healthy and fresh vegetables can be grown in the terraces, balconies and rooftops of housing societies, restaurants, hotels, and beachfront. The programme was attended online by 100 stakeholders (Ag. Dept. Goa state officials, vegetable growers from Goa and other coastal districts, resident welfare association executive, ICAR institute scientists, scientific and technical staff of CCARI & KVK, Goa, etc.) in zoom platform (maximum capacity) and about 50 participants on Facebook Live from various states of the country.

The Chief Guest of the webinar, Kuldeep Singh Gangar IAS, Secretary (Agriculture), Goa government lauded the efforts of ICAR-CCARI, Goa in sensing the urgent need of Goa state regarding the shortage of vegetable production and emphasized for close collaboration of ICAR-CCARI, Goa and Directorate of Agriculture, Govt. of Goa to boost the vegetable production in the state of Goa.

The need of technologies such as VEGFAST for the state of Goa to make Goa self-reliant in vegetable production and reduce its dependence on Karnataka and Maharashtra, Dr. Parveen Kumar, Director, ICAR-CCARI, Goa said.

Dr. S.K. Pandey, former Director, ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla in his remarks emphasized the initiation of VEGFAST technology on pilot project mode in Goa state in collaboration with ICAR-CCARI, Goa.

Dr. Shivasharanappa N, Senior Scientist, Dr. R. Solomon Rajkumar, Scientist (LPT) and Dr. Chaudhari Ganesh Vasudeo, Scientist (Vegetable Science) coordinated the webinar.