PAU TO HONOUR FOUR PROGRESSIVE FARMERS AND ONE FARM WOMAN AT KISAN MELA

Ludhiana, September 11, 2023: 

With an aim to ‘admire and inspire’ progressive farmers of Punjab for their vital contributions to agriculture and allied occupations, the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) will confer five awards on the eve of Kisan Mela on September 14. The awards comprising plaques, citations, shawls and cash prizes, will be bestowed upon four innovative farmers and one farm woman of Punjab.

Sardar Paramjit Singh, a resident of village Bukan Wekhey Nagar (Bahman Wala), block Kotkapura, district Faridkot, will be awarded “Parvasi Bharti Award” for achieving strides in crop diversification. Practising scientific farming on 35 acres of land encompassing 20 acres of his own and 15 acres on lease, this innovative farmer grows vegetables, malta, jamun, plum and other fruits. He saves water via direct seeded rice technique and rainwater harvesting, environment through in-situ paddy straw management and energy using solar pump. He is also engaged in dairy farming and beekeeping, and reaps profits through self- marketing.

Hailing from village Dhaneta of district Patiala, Sardar Amrit Singh will be feted with “Sardar Ujjagar Singh Dhaliwal Memorial Award” for being an outstanding vegetable grower. Possessing 25 years of rich experience in vegetable cultivation, this matriculate farmer attributes his success to PAU’s Farm Advisory Service Centre, Patiala for stimulating him and upgrading his agri-knowledge from time to time. During rabi season, he cultivates brinjal, onion, bottle gourd and cucumber, while in Kharif season, he grows capsicum, chilli and French beans. He is into polyhouse cultivation, and uses cocopeat and vermicompost for nursery raising of vegetables.

A 50-year old Sardar Narinder Singh Tiwana, belonging to the village Ditupur of tehsil Nabha, district Patiala, will be conferred with “Sardar Dalip Singh Dhaliwal Memorial Award” for being environment-conscious and saying no to stubble burning since 2007. He took over the ancestral profession of agriculture after passing out XII and is presently growing sugarcane, sarson, turmeric, vegetables and pulses on three acres using organic methods. Following PAU recommendations, he levels fields using laser land leveller, grows moong using green manuring, practices kitchen gardening, and possesses farm machinery (tractor, zero till drill, rotavator, disc harrow, bed planter, etc.). A cultivator of wheat, sarson, potato and alsi in rabi season and paddy as well as sugarcane in kharif season, Sardar Tiwana also runs agri-business of jaggery-shakkar, canola oil and milk supply.

A small farmer Sardar Sukhpal Singh of village Mauje Khurd, district Mansa, will be awarded “Sardar Surjit Singh Dhillon Award” for excellence in horticulture. Not shattered by the small gains in traditional wheat-paddy cycle on 2.5 acres, this 30-year old farmer decided to diversify his cropping pattern by raising healthy vegetable nursery for productive vegetable cultivation, adopting beekeeping which he practices via 50 bee boxes and by selling ganna (sugarcane) juice. He sows brinjal, okra, tomato, chilli, pumpkin, tori, etc., in summers; and carrot, spinach, radish, sarson da saag, early and late maturing gobhi, coriander, cabbage and turnip in winters.

A 48-year old Bibi Gurbir Kaur of village Jhandewala, Budh Singh Wala, district Moga, will be feted with “Sardarni Jagbir Kaur Memorial Award” for emerging as a guiding light in agriculture and allied enterprises. Taking-up agriculture on 25 acres of ancestral land besides 10 acres on lease, this woman farmer has been rewarded for crop residue management by Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan in 2019-20 besides many others. Relying on PAU for guidance, she has made a mark by making modifications in rotavator and coming up with a Smart Seeder technology, which has been highly recognised by Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, ICAR-Zone I, Ludhiana and Union Agriculture Minister Sh NS Tomar via Twitter App. In addition, this graduate entrepreneur also owns 35 cows and buffaloes for dairy farming, furthering it into milk.