Aravind Yashavant Patil, a farmer from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, won this year’s National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA), constituted by the Union Animal Husbandry Ministry, for best dairy farmer rearing indigenous cattle/buffalo breeds. Meenangadi Ksheerolpadaka Sahakarana Sangham Ltd, Wayanad, Kerala, won the award for best in the category of Dairy Cooperative society/ Milk Producer company/ Dairy Farmer producer organisation.
For North Eastern and Himalayan regions, Vijay Lata, from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh is the best farmer and Kulha Duud Udpadhak Sahkari Samiti, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand is the best cooperative society.
The awards will be presented on November 26, as part of the National Milk Day celebrations.
The Centre received 2,081 applications from farmers and cooperatives for this year’s NGRA.
Kankanala Krishna Reddy, Hyderabad won the second prize for best farmers and Harshit Jhuria, Sikar, Rajasthan and Shraddha Satyawan Dhavan, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra shared the third prize.
