A two day capacity development programme on Hi-Tech Horticulture was conducted for community resource persons (Krishisakhis) by ICAR-Indian institute Horticultural research (IIHR) in collaboration with ICAR-KVK, Dakshina Kannada under RKVY to create awareness among farmers about alternate crops for areca-nut. Dr. Tusar Kanti Behera, Director, ICAR-IIHR inaugurated the programme and urged farmers to adopt the climate resilient crops , techniques, technologies and improved practices developed by the institute for sustainable livelihood. Lectures covering key topics about advanced technologies of ICAR-IIHR of flower and medicinal crops, Fruits and vegetables were delivered by by Dr.H.P.Sumangala, Dr.V.Sankar and Dr.R. Senthil Kumar, Principal Scientists of the Institute. Trainees also visted demonstration plots, nursery, mushroom unit, BESST- HORT unit and ATIC unit. Apart from training, exposure visit was made to Indo-American Hybrid Seed Company to gain insights to its operation and hybrid seed technology. Krishisakhis selected from 18 Gram panchayats of Sulia Taluk were benefitted from this programme.

The programme was coordinated by Dr. V. Sankar, Dr. H. P. Sumanmgala and Dr. R. Senthil Kumar with the support from scientists and technical staff across divisions. The training successfully combined theoretical insights with hands-on exposure, empowering farmers to adopt advanced horticultural technologies for sustainable livelihood enhancement. This training programe attracted wide coverage in print and social media.