Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Ralph de Sousa felicitated five ‘Goa State Awardee’ farmers for their innovative and outstanding contribution to the agriculture sector. Goa ‘Krishi Ratna 2022’ awardee, Rajat R. Prabhu from Nirankal-Ponda; ‘Krishi Vibhushan’ awardees, Gaspar Fernandes from Anjuna-Bardez and Rajendra J. Desai from Pawangal-Dharbandora; along with ‘Krishi Bhushan’ awardee Sanjay S. Rane from Wadawal-Bicholim and Fr. Inacio Almeida State Award for Organic Farming recipient, Shekhar Parashtekar of Parashtem-Pernem, were present for the felicitation.
GCCI President Ralph de Sousa, interacted with the farmers before the formal felicitation to understand their issues and expectations so as to find the best way forward. He later congratulated all the awardees and said that the India’s agriculture sector is not just self-sufficient but the technological advancements have made it a profitable and investor friendly enterprise. He complimented the budding entrepreneurs and startups for venturing into this sector, leaving behind government and corporate jobs, to achieve their dreams.
The ‘Krishi Ratna’ awardee, Rajat Prabhu, opted to do his BBA in Agriculture through DBSKKV-Dapoli instead of a degree in engineering as his farmer father wanted him to do It has paid rich dividends and he is doing the work that he loves to do. Shekhar Parashtekar not only does vermicomposting for his own farm but has also been empowering his neighbours and others with the skills. He truly deserves the only state award named after the ‘Father’ of organic farming in Goa, Fr. Inacio Almeida sfx who worked tirelessly for the promotion of safe and healthy food production in Goa, a territory that was organic and self-sufficient in food in the early days of liberation.
Chairman of the GCCI Agriculture & Food Processing Committee, Orlando Rodrigues, and Mentor Dr Sangam Kurade complimented the awardee-entrepreneurs.
Earlier, Miguel Braganza introduced the five persons being felicitated and gave a brief background of their work. Ambika Dhakhenkar, Assistant Director of GCCI, ably anchored the felicitation program. Orlando Rodrigues proposed the Vote of Thanks.
GCCI Agriculture & Food Processing Committee