Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development K. Raju on Thursday announced the State-level awards instituted by the Animal Husbandry Department for farmers and officers for the year 2018.
Vinod Kumar T.C. of Kollam has been adjudged the best dairy farmer in the State. The award for the best dairy farm on a commercial basis has been won by Biju Joseph of Ernakulam. The award for the best integrated farming has gone to Georgekutty P.J. of Thrissur. All three awards carry a cash prize of ₹1 lakh, a citation, and a plaque.
Woman, youth farmers
The award for the best poultry farmer has been bagged by Pradeep Kumar S. of Kottayam. The best woman and youth farmer awards were won by Mayadevi A.N. and Tenjish A., respectively, both hailing from Alappuzha. These awards carry a cash prize of ₹50,000, a citation and a plaque. The jury panel, chaired by the Director of Animal Husbandry, also selected the best-performing officers for the recognition. Manju Sebastian, V. Sunil Kumar and M.K. Pradeep Kumar were adjudged the best District Animal Husbandry Officers in 2018. Ambika Devi G. and Ayub A. were the joint winners for the Best Deputy Director award. The other winners in various categories were Deepu Philip Mathew, Sajith Kumar S. (veterinary doctor), Beena D. (extension officer), Thomas Jacob, Sajeev Kumar S. (farm officer), Sunitha Karunakaran (lab officer), C.R. Shanavas, Govindan T.R. (field officer), and Biju S. (livestock officer). All wll receive prize of ₹25,000.
Aid for farmers
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will present the awards at a farmers’ meet here on February 4. He will also distribute financial assistance for farmers under various schemes and launch a cooperative society for goat farmers.
