Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to officially inaugurate this afternoon

Mysuru: The day-long State-level Farmers Convention, organised jointly by the Federation of State Farmer Organisations and State Sugarcane Growers Association as part of World Farmers Day, began at Kalamandira on Hunsur Road this morning, with the singing of Raitha Geethe.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will formally inaugurate the Convention this afternoon while Opposition Leader and former Chief Minister Siddharamaiah will take part in the valedictory to take place later this evening.

The rendering of ‘Raitha Geethe’ was followed by a seminar and interaction on ‘Agriculture and farmer issues,’ in which former Farm Produce Price Commission Chairman Dr. T.N. Prakash Kammardi, K.V. Biju of Kerala’s Swadeshi Andolana, farmer leader of Tamil Nadu Rama Goundar, Agricultural writer from Sirsi Shivananda Kalave,Head of Farmers Income Doubling Committee of the Government of India Ashok Dalwai, State President of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha V.R. Narayana Reddy, Sugarcane Growers Association President Kurubur Shantakumar, Vishwa Raitha Dinacharane Samiti (World Farmers Day Celebration Committee) President Dr. S. Shivarajappa, farmer activist G.V. Lakshmidevi and others  were present.

Earlier, Dr. M. Mahadevaiah, former Principal of the city’s Basudev Somani College, welcomed the gathering.

Farmer representatives from different parts of the State are attending the Convention, which also features a Photo Exhibition of Farmer Movements at Kalamandira’s Suchitra Art Gallery.