Odisha CM receives Krishi Karman Award from President

By Prabhukalyan Mohapatra

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 10: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday received the ‘Krishi Karman Award’ for 2012-13 from President Pranab Mukherjee during the inaugural ceremony of the World Agroforestry Congress-2014 at Vigyan  Bhavan, New Delhi.

The Award was given to Odisha as the best performing state in overall food grains production among Category-II states in India. The Award consists of a trophy, a citation and a cash amount of Rs 2 crore.

Odisha has won the Krishi Karman Award for its signal contribution to the growth of agriculture in the state and for achieving a record food grains production of 114 lakh MT during 2012-13.

The President also presented ‘Agriculture Ministers’ Krishi Karman Award for Progressive Farmers’ to two Odia farmers namely Pradip Kumar Panda and Khitisuta Mishra for their contribution as progressive and innovative farmers. These Awards in addition to Prashashti Patras (citations) carry a cash amount of Rs 1 lakh each.

Another young girl student from Odisha, Nisitha Pattnaik was awarded the first prize in painting on Agroforestry by the President during the ceremony.

Mr Mukherjee lauded the efforts made by Odisha and some other states including Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab, for their significant contribution to the food basket of India.

“I dedicate this award to all the farmers of my state,” the chief minister said after receiving the honour.