The Agriculture and Food Processing Industries Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar will confer awards on four farming communities for their outstanding work in conservation of genetic resources, in a ceremony today on May 21, 2013. These awards, carrying a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh each, have been instituted by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Right Authority (PPV & FR), will be given away at a function to be held at New Delhi.

In addition, 10 farmers will receive award and cash prize of Rs 1 lakh each. Fifteen farmers and farming communities will be given a citation to recognize their contribution.

The awards are being given since 2009 to farming communities and farmers, particularly the tribal and rural ones, engaged in conservation, improvement and preservation of genetic resources of economic plants and their wild relatives particularly in the areas identified as agro-biodiversity hotspots.

The awardees of four Plant Genome Saviour Community Awards are (i) Seed Saver Farmers Group, Pune (Maharashtra), Sanjeevini Rural Development Society, Vishakapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Deepaoli Women's Self Help Group, Thiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu) and Akampadam Chimpachala Punchakkadu Padasekhara Samithi representing rice farming communities in Palakkad (Kerala).

The 10 farmers to be awarded Plant Genome Saviour Farmer Rewards are: Mr P Devakanta, Imphal (Manipur), Mr Maha Veer Singh Arya, Churu (Rajasthan), Mr N Vasavan, Kannur (Kerala), Mr Purnanand Venkatesh Bhat, Uttar Kannada (Karnataka), Mr Jai Prakash Singh, Jhakini, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Mr Pravat Ranjan Dey, Panpara, Nadia (West Bengal), Ushagram Trust, Bimagar, Nadia (West Bengal), Mr Chandra Shekhar Singh, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Mr Ciby George Kallingal, Pattikkad, Thrissur (Kerala) and Mr Narendra Singh Sipani, Mandsour (Madhya Pradesh).