Annual farm fest begins at Botanical garden

Join the 36th Annual Farm Fest at Puducherry's Botanical Garden, featuring 40,000 flowering plants and organic farming events.

Around 40,000 flowering plants of 23 varieties are on display at the 36th edition of Farm Fest under way at the renovated Botanical Garden in Puducherry. Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan along with Chief Minister N. Rangasamy inaugurated the festival on Friday evening.

Organised annually by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the fest showcases a range of farm and horticultural produce, plant saplings and flower varieties presented by cultivators. Seven special pavilions on shrub bed, fruit carving, ornamental flowers, vegetables, and plantation crops have found space at the sprawling Botanical Garden.

For the first time, a separate pavilion for organic and natural farming has been set up. As part of promoting organic farming, an event will be held on Saturday at the venue for exporters to interact with farmers involved in natural farming. A panel discussion on opportunities in sustainable agriculture, certification and market access for organic products will be held. 

The organisers are expecting over 3 lakh visitors this year. The festival will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. till Sunday. 

The traffic police have requested the public to use the designated places for parking vehicles. Two-wheelers should be parked at the Old Bus Stand while chauffeur-driven four-wheelers should be parked at the Old Port area. Self-driven vehicles are allowed to be parked at Anna Thidal, the release said.

Directional sign boards and QR codes containing detailed information of locations about parking areas have been installed at all major traffic junctions. Public are advised to plan their visit in advance and make use of designated parking facilities to ensure smooth movement of vehicles, the release said.