Agriculture Leadership Awards announced

New Delhi, Sept 12 : The names for the National Agriculture Leadership Awards have been announced for this year by the National Committee which functions under the Chairmanship of Haryana Governor A. R. Kidwai.

The Life Time Achievement Award for this year went to three outstanding personalities for having served the Indian agriculture system for over four decades each, which positively impacted the growth in India's farm sector, created newer opportunities and contributed to overall rural prosperity. They are Dr. V. Kurien, Dr. K.L. Chadda, and Dr. R.S. Paroda.

Dr. V. Kurien, who is known as the pioneer of the White Revolution in the country and the architect of Operation Flood, for organizing milk producers under cooperative system and later created National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), which helped milk farmers substantially.

Dr. K.L. Chadha is known as the Pioneer of Golden Revolution in India, who provided leadership to horticulture development in India through shaping policies, building institutions, disseminating knowledge and energising the system for employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in horticulture sector, which benefited millions of farmers in the country.

Dr. R.S. Paroda is known for his transformational role in Indian agriculture system, having headed Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) as its DG, which witnessed rapid growth in farm sector, building of agriculture institutions of international repute and forging international cooperation.

A scientist par excellence and an outstanding administrator, he also played global roles in Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) systems, which helped farmers and agriculture around the world.

The Agriculture Leadership Awards have been instituted by "Agriculture Today", the national agriculture magazine, published by Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development from New Delhi.

Andhra Pradesh has been selected for Leadership Award as the best performing State in agriculture by the Agriculture Leadership Awards Committee.

The award ceremony will be held on September 19 at the Taj Palace, New Delhi, as part of the Agriculture Leadership Summit, which is being organised under the chairmanship of eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan.

ANI