Odisha bags Krishi Karman award for agri-productivity

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New Delhi: Odisha on Monday bagged the Krishi Karman award for record food grain production in the medium state category.

President Pranab Mukherjee gave away the award to the state's Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for best performance in raising food grain production in 2012-13 during the inaugural ceremony of the World Agroforestry Congress-2014 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.

Sources said the Award consists of a trophy, a citation and a cash amount of Rs 2 crore.

Besides, Mukherjee felicitated Khitisuta Mishra from Sonepur and Pradeep Kumar Panda from Rayagada for their contribution as progressive and innovative farmers.

"The state has received this award for its excellent performance in food grain production. This award will be dedicated to the farmers of the state," Patnaik told reporters after the award function.

In 2012-13 Odisha produced 114 lakh metric tonne (MT) food grain which is a record in the country, sources added.

Average annual growth rate in agriculture is much ahead of the nation's annual growth rate in the state, informed Debi Prasad Mishra, Agriculture Minister.

Madhya Pradesh won the Krishi Karman award for food grain production in the large state category while Manipur in the small state category.

These awards are given to states in three categories: large - where production is more than 10 million tonne; medium - where production is between 1 and 10 MT, and small - where production is less than 1 MT.
Krishi Karman Awards were instituted in 2010-11 to motivate states to enhance food grain production as well as productivity.