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Saturday, March 24, 2018

Department of Agriculture awarded Krishi Commendation Award 2015-16

Photo 1:  Minister of Agriculture, Meghalaya receiving the Award

The Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India conferred the Department of Agriculture Meghalaya with the Krishi Commendation Award for the year 2015-16, in recognition of the commendable foodgrains production achieved by the State.   The Award carries a citation, trophy and a cash award of INR 1(One) Crore. The award was received by the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Shri. Conrad K. Sangma on behalf of the people of the State, from the Prime Minister of India, in presence of Agriculture Minister, Shri. Banteidor Lyngdoh, Shri.B.Mawlong, MCS, Joint Secretary Agriculture and Shri. R.Langstieh, Director of Agriculture(R&T).

The Chief Minister dedicated the award to the people of the State and especially the farmers. “It gives an immense pleasure that I have received the award on behalf of the farmers of the State, who have scripted a success story. It is just the beginning and we are looking forward to support our farmers in the best possible way”, said the CM. The Chief Minister thanked the Prime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi and the Ministry of Agriculture for recognizing Meghalaya with this award, which was possible because of the hard work of the farmers and the officials of the Department of Agriculture and other stakeholders.

Addressing the gathering at the Krishi Unnati Mela held at IARI, Pusa New Delhi, the Prime Minister of India said that Unnati Mela play a key role in paving the way for New India. He said that today, he has the opportunity to simultaneously speak to two sentinels of New India- farmers and scientists. He said farmers and scientists have to work together to transform agriculture. The Prime Minister specially mentioned the State of Meghalaya, which received an award for its achievements in agriculture, in the period under review. The Prime Minister appreciated the spirit and the hard work of our farmers, for their achievements in agriculture since independence. He said that today, there is record production of foodgrains, pulses, fruits and vegetables, and milk. He said that there are important challenges in agriculture today, which reduce the farmers income, and increase his losses and expenditure. He said the Government is working with a holistic approach to deal with these challenges. He said the aim remains to double farmers incomes, and make the farmers lives easier.

The Prime Minister also said comprehensive steps are being taken for Agriculture Marketing Reforms. It is important to connect Rural Retail Markets with wholesale and global markets. He said that in the recent Union Budget, Grameen Retail Agriculture Markets have been envisaged. 22,000 rural haats will be upgraded with necessary infrastructure, and integrated with APMC and the e-NAM platform.

The Prime Minister also emphasized on the importance of Farmer Producer Organizations. He said Farmer Producer Organizations, would be given relief on income tax, on the lines of cooperative societies. He said a new chapter in Agriculture Marketing Reform is being added in this programme, with the e-marketing portal for organic products. He said that along with the Green Revolution and White Revolution, we must stress on Organic Revolution, Water Revolution, Blue Revolution, and Sweet Revolution. The Prime Minister said that the Government is working to ensure that adequate Agriculture Credit is available.

It may be mentioned that Meghalaya has received the Krishi Award from the Ministry of Agriculture for four consecutive years under the programme “National Food Security Mission”, a centrally sponsored scheme of the Central Government, which aims to increase production and productivity of foodgrains like Rice, Maize and Pulses in the country.

(This article has been reproduced and adapted from the official press release of DIPR, Government of Meghalaya)