PJATAU’s first-ever women farmers’ mela commemorating Intl’ Women’s Day on March 8 and 9

The Professor Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University (PJTAU), Hyderabad, and the Department of Agriculture, will host the first-ever mega farmers’ mela that will exclusively feature women farmers from across the State.

The two-day conclave, to commemorate International Women’s Day, will be held on the university premises on March 8 and 9, and will focus on soil health, role of women in digital agriculture, labour issues, and crop rotation as the key areas.

Unlike the past melas and shows, this is unique and will have up to 5000 women farmers from various districts on each day. All the sessions will also be in an aata-paata (song and dance) format to send across the message clearly and effectively, PJTAU Vice Chancellor, Aldas Janaiah, said addressing the media in Hyderabad on Friday (March 6, 2026).

The event is also the University’s first initiative under the State government’s Prajapalana – Pragati Pranalika 99-day programme.

“By focusing on women in agriculture, ‘the invisible big force’, we can aim at their capacity building, empowerment, and thereby their influence on the sector. This we want to do in a localised approach to establish the message and address key areas such as soil health, crop rotation, and such,” Mr. Janaiah said.

Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) Chief Operating Officer, N. Rajitha, said women farmers-led 84 Farmer Producer Organisations in the State are directly boosting incomes through farming and value addition.

The conclave will see the attendance of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Minister for Agriculture T. Nageswara Rao, leaders from Telangana Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Commission, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, and others.