Curtains go up for VAIGA 2026 fest at Anayara World Market

The State government will continue providing additional bonus to paddy farmers notwithstanding the Centre’s demand that it be discontinued, Agriculture Minister P. Prasad said here on Wednesday.

The Agriculture Minister was inaugurating the 2026 edition of the Value Addition for Income Generation in Agriculture (VAIGA) festival organised by the Agriculture department on the World Market campus at Anayara here. The festival is on till February 16.

The State government has been providing a bonus of ₹6.31 per kg as an addition to the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹23.69 as an encouragement to farmers. The State government has been disbursing the bonus since the MSP provided by the Centre alone will not be sufficient for paddy farmers in the face of unstable prices, he said.

Mr. Prasad underscored the need for value addition in agriculture for enhancing farmer incomes. Farmers and farmer collectives need to concentrate on entrepreneurship for making farming profitable, he said. The Minister described the VAIGA fest as a path for taking farmers from “crop to price,” and an instrument for strengthening the farm sector.

KERA project

The State government had pursued the World Bank-aided ₹2,365-crore Kerala Climate Resilient Agri-Value Chain Modernisation (KERA) project in a scenario where support was not forthcoming from the Centre. The KERA project is designed to benefit the State’s farmers in a big way, he said.

VAIGA 2026 features more than 250 stalls. The Agriculture Minister inaugurated the fest by lighting a lamp made of yam. Participants include farmer collectives, cooperative institutions, farmer producer organisations and public and private sector agencies and entrepreneurs. A B2B meet is planned at hotel O By Tamara on Friday. Around 130 producers and 96 traders are expected to participate in the meet. A Farmer Parliament is planned on February 16 at the Travancore Hall, Technopark.