1 March 2026, Goa
Dr. Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of Goa, inaugurated a demonstration on foliar nutrition using an agri-drone in a community farming field at Surla today. The programme was organised by the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) in collaboration with the Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Goa.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Sawant highlighted the importance of community farming in bringing fallow lands under cultivation, strengthening food security, and promoting rural economic development through collective efforts. He also noted that agricultural income remains tax-exempt and encouraged farmers to take up vegetable cultivation for quicker and higher economic returns.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister felicitated outstanding beneficiaries of ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute and ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra adopted farmers for their notable contributions to agriculture under the ATMA Awards 2025–26.
Two district-level awards were presented: Best Woman Farmer to Smt. Pobrinha Carvalho and Best Farmer (IFS) to Shri Anthony D’Souza, each accompanied by a citation and a cash prize of ₹25,000. In addition, four block-level awards, each carrying a citation and a cash prize of ₹10,000, were conferred on Shri Vishwas Kamlakant Chodankar for Best Pulses Farmer (Rabi), Shri Vishwambar Gawas for Best Vegetable Farmer, Shri Vishnu Mahadev Natekar for Best Paddy and Millet Farmer (Rabi), and Shri Ravikant Ramchandra Naik of Pernem for Best Vegetable Farmer (Rabi).
A total of 128 farmers, including farm women, participated in the programme and benefited from the agri-drone demonstration.
(Source: ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute, Goa)
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