Prime Minister Presents Krishi Karman Awards and Commendation Awards to Many Progressive Farmers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi while presenting Krishi Karman Awards and Commendation Awards to states at a public meeting in Tumkur, Karnataka said, "It’s a fortunate moment for me to be with my farmer brothers and sisters in the beginning of the New Year. With the prestigious Krishi Karman Awards, the land of Karnataka has become a witness to another historic achievement," said Prime Minister giving awards to 28 progressive farmers from 21 states.

The event also witnessed the release of 3rd installment of PM Kisan (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) of 2000 rupees.

PM also handed over Certificates to beneficiaries under PM Kisan from eight States and Union territories. The instalment is given to provide an assured income support to the small and marginal farmers. Under the scheme, 6000 rupees per year are given to farmers in three equal instalments of 2000 rupees each.

He said that apart from horticulture, South India also has a large share in the production of pulses, oil and coarse grains.

Modi said, “Seed hubs have been built to promote pulses production in India, of which more than 30 centers are located in Karnataka, Andhra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana itself.”|

Referring to the Government’s efforts on Fisheries sector, Prime Minister said the government is working at three levels to strengthen the sector.

First - Encouraging fisheries in villages through financial assistance to fishermen.

Second- Modernizing the fishing boats under the Blue Revolution Scheme.

And third - Constructing modern infrastructure related to fish trade and business.

Prime Minister said, “fishermen have been linked to the Kisan Credit Card facility. New fishing harbors are being built in large rivers and in the sea for the convenience of fish farmers. A special fund of Rs 7.50 thousand crore has also been created for modern infrastructure. Fishermen's boats are being modernized for deep sea fishing and navigation devices are being installed in boats for the protection of fishermen with the help of ISRO.”

Keeping in view the nutritional security of the country, PM requested to create a new category in the Krishi Karman Award, for Nutri Cereals, Horticulture and Organic Agriculture. This will give impetus to people and states doing better work in these areas, he added.

Uttarakhand received the Krishi Karman award for foodgrain production, category II for 2017-18. The Prime minister Narendra Modi presented the award at a programme in Karnataka to Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat the state’s Agriculture minister Subodh Uniyal on Thursday. Two progressive farmers from the state- Kaushalya from Kapkot and Jagmohan Rana from Bhatwadi were also felicitated on the occasion. Rawat thanked the prime minister for selecting Uttarakhand for the Krishi Karman award, recalling that Modi had given the target of doubling the income of farmers by 2022. Uttarakhand is working hard to meet the target set by the prime minister, he said. Rawat informed that of the 53.48 lakh hectare area in Uttarakhand, agriculture area comprises about 11.21 per cent. Out of this, about 56 per cent is in the mountainous region while 89 per cent of the farmland is not irrigated and dependent on rain. In the state, about 92 per cent farmers are small and marginal. Under the guidance of the Government of India and with the efforts of the farmers and the Agriculture department, the state has been able to fulfill its food-grain requirements and become self reliant.

Rawat said that the PM has expected Uttarakhand to be developed as an organic state. For this purpose, the state government has covered the entire mountainous region for fully farming. Speaking about the traditional agriculture development scheme, he said that in the next two years, about 1.50 lakh hectare area will come under organic certification. For mechanisation of agriculture, 755 farm machinery banks have been set up so far. The State government is aiming to establish a farm machinery bank in every Gram Panchayat.

A total of 212 projects of 23 departments have been included in the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. Speaking about the measures taken to protect farms from wild animals, he said that about 183 kilometre fencing had been done in 108 villages.