Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) will honour four industrious farmers and a woman entrepreneur, on the inaugural day of the Kisan Mela for their excellence in agriculture and allied enterprises. Parwasi Bharti Award , a resident of Sireye Wala village, Bathinda district, will be awarded “Parwasi Bharti Award 2017” for carving a niche for himself in diversified farming. Gill is into nursery, where he is cultivating vegetables, including onions, chilies, brinjal, cucurbit, cauliflower etc, which he markets in Punjab and other states under the brand name “Gill Nursery Farm.” He uses sprinkler irrigation technique and has laid underground pipes in his nursery for water conservation. Besides, he uses green manure and farm yard manure for the maintenance of soil health. He also makes judicious use of agro-chemicals and follows recommendations of the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) for use of improved and quality seeds in his nursery.Harpreet Singh, a resident of Haripur village, block Amloh, district Fatehgarh Sahib, will be awarded “S Ujagar Singh Dhaliwal Memorial Award 2017” for successful vegetable cultivation. With a double masters’ degree, he has 25 to 30 years of vast experience in agriculture. He has 133 acres of land, out of which, he owns 28 acres and has taken 105 acres on lease. He has setup a fine example when it comes to diversification in terms of drip irrigation, low tunnel technique, crop residue management and seed production. He markets his produce in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir under “Zauhraz Fresh Brand.” He contributes articles to newspapers and has established “Kisan Chetna Manch Organisation” to motivate farmers. Sardar Surjit SinghDhillon Award Satvir Singh Saran, a resident of Sidana village, district Bathinda, will be conferred with “S Surjit Singh Dhillon Award 2017” at the Kisan Mela for touching new heights in the field of agriculture. A small farmer having five acre land holding, Saran gave up traditional paddy-wheat cultivation cycle to grow vegetables by using scientific methods. Presently, he grows tomatoes, chilies and capsicum on his farm. He is also using low tunnel technology. Besides, he uses drip irrigation technique for saving water. He ploughs straw in the field instead of burning which helps in keeping the check on environment pollution. He makes judicious use of weedicides and runs a dairy farm for earning additional income.Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, a resident of Bhullar Bhet village, district Kapurthala, will be conferred with “Sardar Dalip Singh Dhaliwal Memorial Award 2017” at the Kisan Mela for taking great strides in agriculture. He has diversified cultivation in his fields. Presently, he is cultivating wheat, paddy, sarson, berseem, basmati, maize, moong, rajmah, bajra, turmeric, pomegranate, guava, sapota, ber, mango, pear, jamun, potato, okra, cucurbit, brinjal and marigold on his farm. He also follows recommendations of experts from Punjab Agriculture University for cultivation of paddy. He saves water by using laser land leveler technology on his farm. He has also adopted dairy farming as subsidiary occupation and to supplement his agriculture income.Rekha Sharma, a resident of Ramgarh Sikri village, tehsil Mukerian, block Talwara, district Hoshiarpur, will be awarded “Sardarni Jagbir Kaur Memorial Award 2017” for being a successful woman entrepreneur. Along with farming, she is engaged in preservation of vegetables and has earned great recognition by setting-up “Shiv Shakti Modern Self-help Group.” She has contributed economically to her family as well as members of her group by preparing pickles, chutneys, murabas, jam, squashes and sharbats. A recipient of National Award 2012 and State Award 2013, she was given a financial assistance of Rs 77 lakh by former Chief Minister of Punjab, Prakash Singh Badal, during his visit to her unit.

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