Chandigarh, Sep 7 - Nearly 130 farmers, including sarpanch (village headmen) and members of panchayat (village councils) from Punjab and Haryana, were Monday informed of various opportunities in the agriculture sector in Canada and Czech Republic.

During the interactive session, farmers were also told about the fast-track procedure of legally migrating to these countries along with their families.

'Experienced farmers of Punjab can avail benefits of easily relocating and increasing their land holding in these countries. Later, they can also call their families and relatives and can permanently settle there,' said B.S. Sandhu, chief managing director of World Wide Immigration Consultancy Services (WWICS) that organised this meeting.

'Under this fast track permanent residency programme, federal investor or Quebec investor program, a farmer having assets of net worth Canadian $800,000 is eligible to migrate. All the formalities, including interview and visa processing will be completed within just 12-15 months.'

Under this programme, the aspirant has to invest Canadian $400,000 in Canada and he should have at least two years of experience of farm management. Besides, there is no bar on educational qualification and no IELTS requirement.