New Delhi/ Mumbai : The 15thAgriculture Leadership Awards Committee, headed by Justice P Sathasivam, former Chief Justice of India and Governor of Kerala has announced that the State of Maharashtra to be bestowed with the Best Agriculture State Award for 2024. Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Eknath Shinde will be receiving the award in New Delhi on July 10. The award recognizes Maharashtra’s exceptional contributions to the advancement of agriculture and rural prosperity through innovative policies and high-impact developmental initiatives.
The award will be presented at the 15th Agriculture Leadership Conclave on July 10, 2024, at Hotel Holiday Inn, Aerocity, New Delhi. The conclave, a gathering of key stakeholders, will feature distinguished guests, including Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Hon’ble Agriculture Minister, Ambassadors of Brazil, Algeria, Netherland, Ministers from Maharashtra, UP, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, among others.
Under the leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra has spearheaded several transformative programmes, including the nation’s largest bamboo mission covering 2.1 million hectares, 123 mega irrigation projects covering 1.7 million hectares, first state to doubling the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, distribution of nano-technology fertilizers to 4.63 lakh farmers, and the launch of a comprehensive micro-millets programme, among others. These initiatives have positively impacted millions of farmers and significantly boosted rural prosperity, as per the Awards Committee.
The Best Agriculture State Award for 2023 was presented to the state of Bihar, and to the states of Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh in 2022. In the launch year of 2008, it was presented to Andhra Pradesh by the jury headed by Prof. MS Swaminathan, who was instrumental in creating the institution of Agriculture Leadership Awards. The Award shall be received by the Chief Minister, Sh. Eknath Shinde, joined by the Agriculture Minister and high level delegation from Maharashtra.
This award was instituted under the vision of the main architect of Green Revolution in India Prof. MS Swaminathan in the year 2008, and he continued to be the chairman of the award committee for next 11 years. Since then the award has been presented by Agriculture Today Group. Among the prominent Awardees of Agriculture Leadership Awards include, Sh. Rajnath Singh, BJP President, Late Sh. Prakash Singh Badal, CM Punjab, Sh. Ratan Tata, Late, Prof. MS Swaminathan, Late Prof. V Kurien, Amb. Kenneth Quinn, President, World Food Prize Foundation, Amb. Sotelinga Alphonso, Ambassador of Netherland, Amb. Islam Siddiqui, Chief Agriculture Advisor to President Obama, Dr. Balram Jakhar, Governor, Madhya Pradesh, Sh. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, CM, Madhya Pradesh, Prof. PK Dhumal, CM, HP among others.
The Awards, given annually, recognize individuals, organizations and State for their outstanding contributions in agriculture, which positively impact the farmers and agriculture and bringing about the rural prosperity.. The National Awards Committee, led by former CJI and Kerala Governor Justice P. Sathasivam, includes a dozen eminent national figures as members.