PAU To Honour Five Progressive Farmers At Kisan Mela on March 18

Ludhiana, March 17, 2016: The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) will honour five progressive and innovative farmers of Punjab on the first day of Kisan Mela on March 18. The farmers will be awarded for their excellence in agriculture and horticulture.

S.Sohan Singh Bhangu, a resident of villageBishanpura, district Sangrur will be awarded “Chief Minister Award” for making great strides in agriculture. This 55 year-old graduate is engaged in agriculture for the last 30 years. He has installed underground pipeline system on 23 acres and levels 23 acres of land with laser land leveler. He sows wheat with zero till drill and Happy Seeder machines. He cultivates wheat, paddy, peas, summer moong, etc. with the help of other farmers. A total of 100 farmers from nearby villages are attached with him for the seed production of wheat on 1000 acres, paddy/basmati on 250 acres and summer moong on 25 acres. He has also constructed a new polyhouse in one kanal and adopted kitchen gardening to meet family needs of fresh vegetables. He has never burnt paddy straw and has installed a biogas plant in his fields. In addition, he has adopted dairy farming as a subsidiary occupation and owns 42 cows, which give him 700q of milk per year. He is a source of inspiration for other farmers.

S.Avtar Singh Ratol, a resident of village Saroud, district Sangrur will be awarded “Chief Minister Award” for excellence in horticulture. A 53-year old graduate has a farming experience of 32 years. He cultivates vegetables on 50 acres and has installed underground pipeline system on 47 acres of land. After obtaining trainings from Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sangrur and Farm Advisory Service Centre, Sangrur, he installed two hi-tech poly houses on 4000 sq. ft in 2014 for the cultivation of cucumber and zerbera. He is earning Rs 7,80,000/- and Rs 6,20,000/- annually from the cultivation of zerbera and cucumber, respectively. S. Ratol has visited many countries to learn new horticultural techniques. He is into successful cultivation of potato, chilli, muskmelon, capsicum, wheat, etc. and grows nursery of vegetables for sale to other farmers. He also uses drip irrigation technique to save water. He has also developed a mini vegetable seedling transplanter, a tractor mounted short hydraulic trolley and a knob facility in underground irrigation system. With low tunnel technique, he cultivates capsicum successfully and never faces any problem in marketing. Earlier, he has been honoured with S. Dalip Singh Dhaliwal Memorial Award at PAU Kisan Mela.

S.Gurmail Singh, a resident of village Uchhagoan, district Patiala, will be awarded “CRI Pumps Award” for adopting improved water management techniques. This 41-year old progressive farmers is engaged in vegetable production for the last 23 years. He owns 11 acres of land and has taken 6.5 acres on lease. For conservation of water, he uses laser land leveler, drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation techniques. In addition, he follows PAU recommendations for judicious use of pesticides. He also uses organic and green manures (moong and dhaincha) in his fields. He cultivates vegetables on six acres of land using low tunnel technique. He grows paddy, wheat, berseem, cauliflower, muskmelon, tomato, brinjal, cucumber, peas, karela and bitter gourd. He has obtained trainings in hybrid seed production, soy processing and subsidiary occupations like bee keeping and dairy farming from Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Patiala. Not only this, S. Singh has a sale outlet named “ATMA KISAN HUT” in Patiala, which has improved the daily sale of his products. S. Singh also established a soy processing plant in 2012 and sells his soy products like soy milk, tofu, atta and nuts under the brand name “Smart.” He encourages other farmers to adopt low tunnel technique and has become a role model for them.

S Harjit Singh, a resident of village Jhita Kalan, Amritsar will be awarded “CRI Pumps Award” for adopting farm mechanization. This 36-year old matriculate is practicing farming on his 28 acres of land for the last 15 years. He has strong linkages with the experts of Farm Advisory Service Centre (FASC), Amritsar and Department of Agriculture, Punjab. He follows PAU recommended practices for getting good economic returns. He uses various agricultural machines like straw baler, laser leveler, chiseller, paddy transplanter, straw reaper, Happy Seeder, etc. S. Singh has also developed Agro-Service Centre for optimum use of farm machinery on custom hiring basis. He raises mat type nursery for paddy, uses leaf colour chart and direct seeded rice technique to conserve, water and energy. Besides, S. Singh is against burning of paddy straw and has made efforts for its management in the district. A member of various professional societies, he has been conferred with “Navomanashi Sanmaan” by Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi.

Mr Surinderpal Singh, a resident of village Dhingwali,Abohar (Fazilka) will be awarded with “CRI Pumps Award” for adopting organic farming. He is practicing organic farming for the past 25 years. He owns 300 acres of land, out of which 80 acres is under organic cultivation. He grows wheat, guar, desicotton, vegetables, sugarcane, citrus fruits, etc. He is well aware of the fact that organic farming leads to environment protection, good soil health, saves water and reduces input costs. For seed treatment and insect-pest and disease management, he uses organic manure. He owns 64 desi cows (Rathi) from which he produces jeev amrit and other organic manures. He has opted for self-marketing, produces farm yard manure and cultivates pulses in crop rotation. He keeps visiting PAU, Ludhiana; Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar; and Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi for technical guidance. He has been honoured by the Punjab Chief Minister in 2014 for being outstanding organic farmer.