The South India times Ongole: The Tobacco Institute of India (TII) today organized the 22nd edition of the Tobacco Farmers’ Awards to honor progressive farmers from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana who have demonstrated the benefits of contemporary farming practices, leading to enhanced productivity levels. An award ceremony to honor the progressive Tobacco farmers from Karnataka was held in Hunsur in April 2022.
The awards ceremony was attended by the Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Shri M. Sreeniva sulu Reddy; Member of Legislative Assembly, Shri M. Maheedhar Reddy; Vice Chairman, Tobacco Board, Shri H.C. Basavaraju; Tobacco Board Members, Shri Mareddy Subrahmanyeswara Reddy, H.R. Dinesh, and Shri Podda Varaprasada Rao.
The ceremony witnessed the felicitation of 15 tobacco farmers in three separate categories Lifetime Award (1), Best Farmer Awards (7), and Recognition Awards (7). Speaking at the awards ceremony, Shri Sharad Tandan, Director, TII, said, “The Tobacco Institute of India instituted these awards in 1999 with a view to honor and encourage the cigarette leaf tobacco farming community for its effort in adopting modern and progressive farming practices, which would help improve yields, produce improved varieties, and make Indian tobaccos competitive in the global market.
These awards endorse TII’s firm support to tobacco farmers and acknowledge their important socio-economic contribution to the country.” He added that tobacco is a crucial commercial crop in India, making enormous socio-economic contributions in terms of agri- cultural employment, farm incomes, revenue generation, and foreign exchange earnings. India is the world’s second-largest tobacco producer and a leading exporter, with exports of leaf tobacco and tobacco products generating annual foreign exchange earnings of around Rs 6,500 crore. “Although tobacco is grown on a small share of the country’s farmland, it makes a substantial contribution to the exchequer with regard to tax revenues and foreign exchange earnings.
