Gujarat govt to award one farmer from each district in India for contribution to farm sector

The Gujarat government for the first time has decided to award one farmer from each of the 671 districts at its global agriculture summit to be held next month, to recognise their contribution to farm sector.

The two-day 'Global Agriculture Summit', that will begin from September 9 in Gandhinagar, would be an interactive platform for about 5,000 farmers from across the country of which more than 3,000 would be from outside the state. "One of the key highlights of the summit is the award ceremony. We are going to award each farmer from each district in the country for their contribution in achieving food security of the nation," Gujarat Principle Secretary for Agriculture and Cooperation Raj Kumar said.

There are about 671 districts in the country and the Gujarat government has sought help of other states in identifying the successful farmer for this award, he said, adding that a cash prize with citation would be given to them.

Kumar said "kisan panchayats" will be held where farmers from other states will share their success stories and discuss wide range of issues related to production, productivity and value-addition in agriculture sector.

The summit main theme will be bring India's agriculture growth at par with growth in other sector. "More than 50 per cent of the country's population is dependent on agriculture but its contribution to the GDP is lower than other sectors. There is something wrong in our agricultural policies which this summit will try to find some answer," Kumar said. The average agriculture growth in Gujarat in the last one decade has been around 11 per cent, he added.