Odisha bags Krishi Karman Award for Agriculture

Odisha received the prestigious Krishi Karman Award for record foodgrain production. Agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy received the award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Principal Secretary, Agriculture Rajesh Verma was also present on the occasion. Prime Minister Modi also felicitated two farmers of the state from Balangir and Khurda with the award.

The award was conferred to the state during the launching ceremony of Union Government’s nationwide ‘Soil Health Card’ Scheme from Suratgarh, Rajasthan. Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister appealed to focus on the health of soil in agriculture to boost the productivity. Lunching the scheme the prime minister stressed on the growth of agriculture sector.

It is noteworthy that, Odisha government had adopted Comprehensive Agriculture Policy in 2013 to boost the foodgrain production in the state. In 2012-13 budget the state focused on agriculture & allied sectors. The allocation for agriculture sector was increased from Rs.7162 crore during 2013-14 to Rs. 9542 crore during 2014-15. The state government established a Gene Bank and registered 977 farmers’ crop varieties in the state. And, the state set up Farm Information Advisory Centre (FIAC) in every block to boost the agriculture sector.

At the function, the prime minister has presented Krishi Karman Awards to states for their contribution towards the agriculture. Besides presenting wards to state chief ministers and government functionaries, the prime minister also presented the wards to 18 progressive farmers belong to nine states. Prime Minister Modi presented Commendation Awards to Agriculture Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Karnataka on the occasion. This year Krishi Karman Award was given to nine states including Odisha for excellent agriculture production and Appreciation Certificate to five states.