Krishi Karman Award to Madhya Pradesh for best performance in agriculture production

Bhopal: After unprecedented achievements in agriculture sector in last some years, Madhya Pradesh is now going to receive Krishi Karman Award of the Union Government for best performance in agriculture production. The Rs. 2 crore award will be given away by President Shri Pranab Mukherjee to Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan in New Delhi on January 15, 2013. Agriculture Minister Dr. Ramkrishna Kusmaria will also be present on the occasion.
The Krishi Karman Award for year 2011-12 is being conferred to Madhya Pradesh in “Food Production Category First”. Besides, Raisen district’s farmer Smt. Radhabai Dube and Shri Gambhir Singh Pal of Seoni-Malwa in Hoshangabad district will be honoured by the President for best performance in organic farming. They will be given Rs. one lakh and certificate each.
It is noteworthy that Madhya Pradesh has produced total 216.08 lakh metric tonnes of food grains in year 2011-12. This is a record. Earlier, state’s maximum food production stood at 166.41 metric tonnes in year 2010-11. Taking long strides in wheat production, 127.53 metric tonnes of wheat was produced in year 2011-12. Maximum wheat productivity in year 2010-11 was 2065 kg per hectare, which rose to 2609 kg per hectare during year 2011-12. Paddy production in Madhya Pradesh was to the tune of 17 lakh 72 thousand metric tonnes in year 2010-11, which has risen to 22 lakh 27 thousand metric tonnes in year 2011-12.
Good results of special efforts: The award being conferred to Madhya Pradesh for best performance in food grains production sector is the result of constant committed efforts in this direction by the State Government. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, important decisions were taken in the interest of agriculture and farmers and implemented in right earnest. Agriculture Cabinet was constituted in the state. Interest on cooperative loans to farmers was reduced to zero percent. Farmers were given Rs. 100 per quintal bonus on wheat procurement and Rs. 50 per quintal of paddy procurement. It has been decided to give Rs. 100 per quintal bonus on paddy also from this year.
High-yield varieties were promoted and weekly reviews of farm input supply was made. Seed production was increased by forming 1,217 seed production societies. Besides, 83 percent seeds were sown after treatment and adequate increase was ensured in seed transplantation in wheat and paddy crops. Micro nutrients, specially zinc phosphate were promoted. Irrigation facility was provided in 16 lakh 35 thousand hectare by enhancing irrigation potential of big dams. Agriculture credit limit was increased to 30.5 percent. Loans worth Rs. 7,629 crore 27 lakh were distributed to farmers through cooperative banks in year 2011-12.
Smt. Radhabai and Shri Gambhir Singh Pal: Raisen district’s farmer Smt. Radhabai Dube has emerged as state’s organic farming ambassador by establishing record of maximum organic crop production in the state. By producing 23 quintal gram in one hectare, Smt. Radhabai has proved that traditional Indian organic farming method is much more beneficial and suitable to climate than use of chemical fertiliser. Smt. Radhabai will be given Rs. one lakh and certificate by the President. She will be the first woman farmer of Madhya Pradesh to receive this prize.
Similarly, Shri Gambhir Singh Pal of Seoni-Malwa in Hoshangabad district has established the record of producing 74 quintals of wheat per hectare. He will also be felicitated by the President.