Imagination takes seed at TN agri business 2025 fair | Chennai News – The Times of India
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Agri Business Fair 2025 at the Chennai Trade Centre shows how the state’s farming traditions and native ingredients are being reimagined for a younger, globalized audience. Organized by the state’s Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, 168 stalls from 38 districts showcased a whole range of products from banana-fibre sarees and palm leaf manuscripts to honey cola and millet ice cream.Tamil Nadu Agricultural University professor N Anandaraja said at first glance, this may look like just another exhibition, but it is about bridging farmers with consumers and showing how traditional products can be reimagined to suit today’s tastes. For instance, at a stall selling moringa soup mix, farmer S Magizh from Theni said he once believed his job ended with harvest. “I have grown drumsticks all my life but never thought they could be turned into a powder like this. The young generation and their enthusiasm keep us going,” he said.Many stalls put a healthy spin on popular snacks. Viswa Marimuthu from Dindigul makes instant noodles by infusing curry leaf in wheat flour, sold with an organic masala packet for 70. D Praveen from Coimbatore mixes pearl, little, and finger millets into ice cream priced at 50. From Kanyakumari, Nyana Daya Singh sells a honey cola with lemon, ginger, native sugar, and the district’s famous Marthandam honey. “Our district alone has around 25,000 beekeepers and a centre for excellence in beekeeping,” he said.Innovation wasn’t limited to food alone. Banana-fibre sarees starting at 1,500 attracted older buyers. Heritage crafts were also reinvented for today’s buyers. The fair also showcased advanced agricultural technology, including drones with 20-litre tanks for seeding and fertilizer spraying, and multipurpose pumps that can double up as sprayers and vehicle washers.Encouraged by the response, the state will organise 30 more such fairs across Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, said prof Anandaraja.
