Progressive K’shetra farmer to get national award
DHANGALI (KURUKSHETRA): A 31-year-old farmer and entrepreneur Karan Sikri of Dhangali village of Kurukshetra district will get the National Jagjivan Ram Kisan Abhinav award of the Indian Centre of Agriculture Research (ICAR) on Sunday.
Karan will receive the prestigious ICAR award from the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi on the ICAR foundation day. The award is given for outstanding contributions of innovative farmers for initiatives in development, adoption, modification and dissemination of improved technology. Under this award he will get ₹ 1 lakh cash award.
Karan, the director of the Sikri Farms located near Shahbad town is producing around 25,000 MT of vermicompost fertiliser annually and supplying it to thousands of farmers in Haryana, Himachal, Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir.
Spread over 25 acres of land, the Sikri farm is also a learning centre for the young agriculture students as it teaches them how to produce vermicompost for organic farming, subsurface irrigation and dairy farming, installing Netafim’s drip irrigation, bee keeping, organic honey manufacturing, animal husbandry and high-tech farming.
Karan is planning to set up more farms in Punjab and J&K. To learn new farming techniques, he has travelled extensively to different countries including Israel, Australia and China.
An MBA from Delhi, Karan forayed into farming in 2004. Passionate about agriculture, food and sustainability, he has not only changed his life but brought hope for around 100 people who have found employment at his farms .
With a motive to save soil and save water, Karan has been manufacturing organic vermicompost at his farm helping farmers enrich their soil with micro organisms.
Talking to Hindustan Times, Karan said, “I will be getting this award for my contribution in the field of agriculture by producing vermicompost with cow dung and promoting drip irrigation.”
“Using cow dung as fertiliser will also help Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission. We are also working to bring a new model to increase agriculture income and reduce input cost,” he added.
Karan is also raising paddy, sugarcane, corns, wheat, fruits, and vegetable in Sikri farms. He is planning to set up a big dairy farm and use its cow dung to generate electricity.
He said he is also planning to start an awareness campaign about the vermicompost in the Kurukshetra region, which is a big consumer of pesticides and fertilsers.
Karan’s wife Yashika is also helping him in achieving his target and she has left her job of manager in Axis Bank.
“My wife is helping me in every step as she has left her bank job and joined me in the field now,” Karan said.
I am getting this award for my contribution in the field of agriculture by producing vermicompost with cow dung and promoting drip irrigation. KARAN SIKRI, farmer and entrepreneur