It was a video conferencing with a difference. Tradition was meeting modernity here. The occasion was product launch of IFFCO MC in the field of insecticides, fungicides and weedicides in the country.
The entire Board of the cooperative body was there as were special invitees from across the country. If MD and Chairman held the fort at the IFFCO headquarters in Delhi, Japanese bosses of Mitsubishi were connected through video conferencing from Tokyo.
But the highlight of the show was participation of farmers from more than 10 states of the country who went poetic singing in the praise of IFFCO. “Jai MD, Jai Kisan”, chanted the farmers across different centres.
A farmer from West Bengal said the launch is clashing with Durga Puja which is a good omen. Another from Bangalore said “I am distributing IFFCO fertilizer for the past 40 years and farmers buy it not batting an eyelid. It is matter of great relief for us farmers that a stuff as genuine as the former in the field of insecticide is being launched by IFFCO.
There were farmers associated with IFFCO for the last 10, 20 and 30 years in the conference who talked about Indian farmers’ blind faith in the IFFCO products. They were jubilant at IFFCO’s new initiative.
While some called it a red-letter day, others likened it to agrarian revolution. But IFFCO MD Dr US Awasthi sounded cautious and favored going slow. “We wish to be slow but sure”, he stressed the need to have genuine stuff in a market which often gets flooded with fake products.
“We are not here to sell insecticides but we are here to help our farmers and we are ready to go to any extent to achieve this goal. Commerce is not the guiding principle of either IFFCO or IFFCO-MC”, Awasthi underlined.
