Bhubaneswar, Dec 14: Organic farming and Smart farming have emerged as need of the time, emphasized guests and critics in the Krushan Ratna Award Ceremony 2024 a benchmark program of Prameya News7 held at the SOA Campus-II on Friday.
Inaugurating the Agricultural Development program joining as Chief Guest,Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo said, organic farming is the future of agriculture. It can bestow farmers with good yields and pave way for a robust farming across generations. Apart from it, use of organic fertilizers will boost traditional farming with an eco-friendly approach. Thus, he sought the cooperation of both farmers and organic fertilizer manufactures to work out on it unitedly.
Underlining the government’s perspective in promoting bio-fertilizers that’s one of the primary ingredients of organic farming Singh Deo said, the Odisha government is in touch with a number of organic fertilizer manufacturing units to fetch requisite quantity of bio-fertilizers for the state.
Highlighting the potato issues that the state encounters with now, Singh Deo said that a sincere exercise has been initiated to produce as much as potatoes across the state which will fulfill the need of the kitchen staple throughout the year.
For safe and sustainable storage of the high-yield potatoes, infrastructure for cold storage will be accordingly developed, Singh Deo added.
Vice-Chancellor of Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology(OUAT) Prof. Prabhat Ku. Roul who joined the occasion as Chief Speaker said that traditional farmers should switch over to smart agriculture which assures better yields and involves scientific tools with less manual labors.
Expressing concern over low or no wheat farming, which is almost going extinct in Odisha, Prof. Roul said wheat and mustard oil cultivation should be again revived for a better productivity of food grain and oilseeds.
It’s why a community approach including youth and students active participation in a robust system of farming along with absolutely transformed farmers, is essential, the Agro-scientist said.
Citing the noble aims and objectives of the Krushak Ratna Award, CEO, The Prameya & News7 Sunil Das said, cultivators are indeed gems and jewels for the nation. They not only fulfill their own needs from tilling soil but also provide abundant scopes of employment and serve the nation with their harvested foodstuffs.
Das further said that, as a venture to create mass awareness on promotion of farmers and farming as a prime occupation and a sustainable alternative before the youths, The Prameya, as a social tool, dreamt of the ‘Krushak Ratna Award’. The program celebrated once in a year encourages traditional farmers, students and youth communities to become successful agriculture entrepreneurs creating newer potential and possibilities bringing green revolution. The Program also becomes instrumental for the common farmers living on traditional farming in transforming them cope up with the new robust and scientific agriculture methods involving ultra-modern technologies including AI, drone and other automated mechanisms for climate resilient, multiple harvest and optimization of manual labor.
As a token of recognition to the farmers, as many as 26 farmers, 3 farm- researchers who contributed their ideas to a symposium titled ‘Agri-Innovative Challenge’ and three farm lovers who captured agricultural panoramas in their eyes, were felicitated in the occasion.
Among other dignitaries, CEO, Prameya & New7 Sunil Das, Chief Financial Officer, PPL Bijay Biswal, Group Editor Gopal Krishna Mohapatra, News7 Executive Editor Deba Narayan Sethi, Prameya& News7 Group Director(Marketing) Himanshu Hota, SOA Dean(Student Welfare) Jyoti Ranjan Das, DGM(Circulation) Gajendra Das and Prameya Bureau Chief Debendra Suar attended the occasion.
