Woman agri-entrepreneur, six farmers to be awarded at PAU tomorrow
Ludhiana, March 12
Celebrating and recognising the unceasing devotion of the Punjab’s farmers to the agriculture and allied enterprises, the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has selected six progressive farmers and one diligent woman entrepreneur for felicitation on the eve of the kisan Mela, scheduled to be held at the PAU campus, Ludhiana on March 14. The selected farmers will be conferred with plaques, citations and cash awards for making exemplary contributions to the agrarian sector.
Awards for scientific and organic farming as well
- Manjit Kaur, hailing from village Nila Naloya of Hoshiarpur district, will be presented ‘Sardarni Prakash Kaur Sra Memorial Award’ for carving a niche in agri-entrepreneurship
- Chief Minister’s Award will be given to Dhana Singh, from Ugrahan village in Sangrur, for excelling in vegetable nursery raising and cultivation; Jagtar Singh, from Arayan Wala Kalan village in Faridkot for practising horticulture farming on over 100 acres land; Ranjit Singh Bajwa, from Fatehullapur village of district Hoshiarpur, for crop production and subsidiary occupations
- Two ‘CRI Pump Awards’ will be bestowed upon Taranjit Singh from Bugra village of Hoshiarpur district and Randhir Singh Bhullar from Salana Jiwan Singh Wala village of Fatehgarh Sahib district for scientific and organic farming
- 65-year old Balkar Singh, residing in Sawal village of Kapurthala district, will be felicitated with ‘Jathedar Gurdita Singh Mahal Memorial Award’ for horticulture. Carrying out farm operations on a total of 13 acres of land, this meticulous farmer has been honoured twice by the government
A resident of Ugrahan village in district Sangrur, Dhana Singh will be feted with ‘Chief Minister’s Award’ for excelling in vegetable nursery raising and cultivation. Practicing vegetable cultivation for the last 14 years, this untiring small farmer, despite owning only four acres of land and acquiring five acres on lease, has emerged as an immense source of stimulation for the fellow farmers. He is raising vegetable nursery of onion, cauliflower, chilli, tomato and brinjal; and cultivating tomato, cucumber, bottle gourd, pea, cauliflower and chilli using low tunnel technology and sprinkler irrigation.
Hailing from Arayan Wala Kalan village in Faridkot village, Jagtar Singh will receive the ‘Chief Minister’s Award’ for unleashing his indefatigable spirits in horticulture. This 53-year old progressive farmer is a graduate and practices farming on 100 acres of area including 41 acres of his ancestral land. Having a strong bend of mind towards diversification, he is growing red chilli, potato, tomato, arbi, and cauliflower among vegetables; maize, watermelon and moong among other crops; and basmati for water conservation.
A 52-year old Ranjit Singh Bajwa, belonging to Fatehullapur village of Hoshiarpur district, will be honoured with the Chief Minister’s Award for leveraging his agricultural spirit in crop production and subsidiary occupations. He is cultivating wheat, sugarcane and poplar; and using water saving technologies for irrigation, and paddy straw management technologies for environmental protection. Besides, he is growing gobhi sarson for oil production; raising vegetable nursery for nutritional benefits; and practicing beekeeping and mushroom cultivation as well as dairy and poultry farming for economic progress.
A 65-year old Balkar Singh, residing in Sawal village of Kapurthala district, will be felicitated with ‘Jathedar Gurdita Singh Mahal Memorial Award’ for emerging as a beacon of optimism in horticulture. Carrying out farm operations on a total of 13 acres of land, this meticulous farmer has been honoured twice by the Punjab Government in 2013 and 2016 for achieving great strides in the field of horticulture.
Two ‘CRI Pump Awards’ will be bestowed upon Taranjit Singh from Bugra village of district Hoshiarpur; and Randhir Singh Bhullar from Salana Jiwan Singh Wala village of Fatehgarh Sahib district.
Engaged in scientific farming on 242 acres comprising 32 acres of his ancestral land and 210 acres on lease, Taranjit Singh has set a fine example in natural resource conservation, farm expenses’ reduction and income augmentation through farm mechanisation. This dairy and poultry farmer has also set up a unit for jaggery and shakkar processing.
Associated with farming for the last 25 years, Randhir Singh Bhullar has made a mark in organic cultivation of wheat, til, chickpea, jeeri, mash, moong, sugarcane and vegetables. A strong promoter of pesticide-free production, he uses organic manure and vermi-compost to enhance soil health; moong, jantar and guar as green manure; and neem oil, jeev amrit and traps for disease management in crops.
An owner of three acres of land, Manjit Kaur, hailing from Nila Naloya village of Hoshiarpur district, will be presented ‘Sardarni Prakash Kaur Sra Memorial Award’ for carving a niche in entrepreneurship. This matriculate and diploma holder is running a self-help group ‘Mother Teresa’ as its president and deeply engrossed in the making of pickles, chutneys and squashes, turmeric powder, bajra flour and gur and shakkar making.
