12 farmers get ICAR award for radical rise in income

New Delhi, September 25 

The country’s premier public agri-research body ICAR today presented ‘Pandit Deendayal Updhyay Krishi Puruskar 2016’ to 12 farmers who raised their income substantially after skill development training at the institute.

The national award with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh was given to an enterprising woman farmer Krishan Yadav from Najafgarh, south west Delhi, for her entrepreneurial journey from selling vegetables on road to setting up a food processing factory to manufacture more than 200 products like pickles.

The zonal award with Rs 50,000 cash prize was given to 11 farmers selected from agri-zones, including Kanpur, Ludhiana, Patna, Jodhpur, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. “We have instituted this award this year itself to recognise the work of those poor and small farmers who have transformed their lives after taking training from our institutes. “They have come up in life despite not having education and financial backing,” Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Direct General Trilochan Mahapatra said. The award was instituted this year to commemorate the birth centenary of Jan Sangh founder Pandit Deendayal Updhyay.

Ravinder Kaur, Director of Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), one of the institutes under ICAR, said, “To increase farm income, we need to increase yields and focus on integrated farmers. Farmers should take advantage of new technology from our institutes.”

Yadav said, “I started my business with a loan of just Rs 500 in 2000. Now, I am processing 50-odd agri-commodities and selling to BSF canteens and other retail chains, making business in crores and providing employment to more than 150 people.” She sells pickles under the brand name of ‘Krishna’. — PTI