PRIME Minister Dr Manmohan Singh felicitated Chhattisgarh Government for highest production of paddy in the country. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and State’s Agriculture Minister Shri Chandrasekhar Sahu jointly received the Award in New Delhi on July 16. The Award consists of a memento and Rs one crore.
Bastar Krish Vigyan Kendra was also honoured with the best agriculture research centre of the country. Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Dr Charandas Mahant and Chief Minister of various states were also present at the function.
Receiving the Award, Dr Raman Singh said the award was the outcome of the hard work of the farmers and also the best implementation of schemes by the State government. Dedicating the Samman to the hard working farmers of the State, Dr Raman Singh said the credit for this award first goes to the farmers of the State who through their hard work produced highest amount of paddy in the country.
The Chief Minister said the State government has taken many initiatives for betterment of the agriculture sector. He said over 51 lakh MT paddy worth rupees five crore was purchased from the farmers on minimum support price. It is to be noted that Chhattisgarh has recorded 61.59 lakh MT paddy this year, which is 50 per cent more than the paddy production of last year. The government has taken many initiatives to empower the farmers. The interest rate on loan to farmers has been reduced from ten per cent to three per cent. The farmers are also being provided free electricity up to 6,000 units per year for irrigation.
Later, State Agriculture Minister Shri Chandrasekhar Sahu called on Minister of State for Agriculture Dr Charandas Mahant and expressed concern over the less supply of fertilizer to the State’s farmers. He pointed out that out of the total eight lakh MT fertilizer, only three MT fertilizer has been supplied to the farmers this year.
