Governor Balramji Dass Tandon will felicitate 72 progressive farmers of the State for innovations in farming techniques in a ceremony to be held at Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV) on Wednesday.
The IGKV has started the new tradition of honouring progressive farmers from this year in association with Chhattisgarh Council of Science & Technology. The selected farmer will get a citation and a cash prize of Rs5000, officials said.
Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal will preside over the programme while Additional Chief Secretary of Agriculture Department Ajay Singh and Regional Project Director of Agriculture Science Center Zone-7 of Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) Dr Anupam Mishra would be present on the occasion.
Vice-Chancellor of IGKV Dr SK Patil and Director General of Chhattisgarh Council of Science & Technology Prof MM Hambarde will also remain present on the occasion. Officials said that the farmers of the State have set new records in agriculture through innovations and experiments with use of modern farming techniques and technology.
The IGKV has decided to include such progressive farmers in agriculture development. The experience of these farmers will benefit the farmers of the State. This will be a step towards new thinking and innovation in agriculture and to help the farmers achieve economic independence.
It may be recalled that on February 19 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had presented National ‘Krishi Karman Award’ to Chhattisgarh State for record rice production at Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan. State Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal received the award at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The State has received the award for the third time in four years for record rice production. The award for the year 2013-14 included a citation and a cash prize of Rs2 crore, officials stated. Modi also presented the ‘Krishi Karman Award’ to two progressive farmers from Chhattisgarh — Prabhat Kumar Chandrakar and Hemkumari Sahu for record rice production. They were given cheques worth Rs2 lakh each. The Prime Minister on the occasion also launched the National Soil Health Card Yojana.
Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh, Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia besides a number of Union ministers were present at the function. It may be mentioned here that the Chhattisgarh government has started putting a significant share of emphasis on farm mechanization through holding of fairs focussed on showcasing of modern farm implements to farmers.
In its series, a four-day ‘Agritech Fair 2015’ commenced at Janjgir in the State recently. A series of programmes related to Agriculture and farmers was organized during the ‘Agritech Fair’ 2015 from February 11 to 13, officials informed. Notably, in 2013, the youth also in Chhattisgarh possessing requisite Agriculture qualifications also started receiving four per cent grant on the interest payable on bank loans for setting up Agri-based enterprises.
The was taken by the State Agriculture Department with a view to providing a major boost to establishment of Agri-based enterprises in Chhattisgarh. The grant on loans is for the youth who had undergone courses in ‘Agri Clinics’ and ‘Agri Business’ and are desirous of taking advantage of the decision for setting up Agri-based units in the State.
It was learnt that the educated youth with qualifications in Agriculture were unable to establish Agri based units earlier due to higher interest rates on bank loans. Taking cognizance of the problems faced by the farmers and the youth in acquiring loans, the State government decided to offer four per cent grant on interest payable on such loans.
As per the information available with the Agriculture Directorate, the provision for offering four per cent grant on interest on loans was made in the State Agriculture Budget for financial year 2013-14.
The scheme entailed provision of four per cent grant on interest payable on loans of a maximum limit of Rs1 crore with the cap on grant payable on interest payable put to a maximum limit of Rs4 lakh. This apart, the Government floated another scheme for capacity enhancement of the farm labourers for achieving higher agriculture productivity with the aim of making their task easier on farm lands.
The scheme comprised distribution of kits containing necessary equipment required for farm work keeping in view the time and labour required to complete tasks. The kit contained equipment worth Rs42,000 for enhancing the work efficiency of the farm labourers.
It may be mentioned that the farm work is impacted by lack of sufficient labour availability which has its cascading effect on agriculture productivity. Moreover, the Agriculture Service Centres established in every development block by Chhattisgarh government are now also providing agricultural equipments on rent to the farmers, officials stated.