Kanwal Singh Chauhan is an Indian farmer from Haryana, India. He is known for his contributions to crop diversification in the agriculture industry.[1] In January 2019, he was awarded Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award.[2][3][4] He was honoured with N. G.Ranga Farmer Award 2010 by Indian Council of Agricultural Research in August 2011.[5]

Kanwal Singh Chauhan
NationalityIndian
CitizenshipIndia
EducationLLB[1]
Occupation(s)Farmer, Entrepreneur
AwardsPadma Shri (2019)

Biography

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Kanwal Singh Chauhan was raised in Aterna, a village in Sonipat district of Haryana. Chauhan began farming at the age of 15. In 1997 he began farming baby corn at a time when the main source of the vegetable was imports from Thailand at the price of ₹4000 per kg. He introduced baby corn to the region and began selling it at a price of ₹70 per kg. By 2009, he had expanded into the production of canned baby corn as well as exports. His business, which started as a one-man enterprise, grew to employ over 200 employees by 2019.[6] He also established a fair price system for farmers growing mushroom, babycorn, sweetcorn and tomato.[7]

In 2001, he founded the Gulab Fruits & Vegetable Growers & Marketing Cooperative Society in Sonipat, a cooperative dedicated to the production, marketing, and export of vegetables such as baby corn, sweet corn, mushrooms, and broccoli. The cooperative conducts various training programs to promote agricultural diversification in India. In 2012, it established a processing unit for the canning and sale of vegetables, minimising waste.[8] Chauhan also founded the Integrated Unit for Mushroom Development in 2008, a mushroom manufacturing business.[9]

In light of the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest against agricultural deregulation, Chauhan spoke in favour of the Modi government's actions, saying that farmers' concerns were "misguided.[10] After extending support to the government over the new farm laws, he received threat calls from unidentified callers.[11][12] He is the President of Sonipat's Progressive Farmers Club.[10]

Awards and recognition

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Manohar, Asit (20 April 2012). "Innovative farmer: Meet the father of baby corn in Sonipat". The Economic Times.
  2. ^ "List of Padma Awardees 2019" (PDF). Padmaawards.gov.in. Government of India.
  3. ^ Dhamecha, Sheetal (28 January 2019). "Meet the Farmers who won the Padma Shri Award". Krishi Jagran.
  4. ^ "'मन की बात' में पीएम मोदी ने किया किसान कंवल सिंह चौहान का जिक्र, जानें इनके बारे में" (in Hindi). Dainik Jagaran. 27 September 2020.
  5. ^ Deswal, Dipender (10 August 2011). "Kanwal Singh Chauhan, a progressive farmer of village Aterna in district Sonepat has been honoured with N.G.Ranga Kissan Award-2010". The Times of India.
  6. ^ Lekshmi Priya S (19 March 2019). "Meet the Farmer Behind India's Largest Babycorn-Producing District Who Earns Crores!". The Better India. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Punjab Agricultural University - PAU - Ludhiana, Punjab - INDIA - pau.edu". www.pau.edu. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Success Story of Gulab Fruit & Vegetable Coop. Society Rai, Sonipat". HARCOFED. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Integrated Unit For Mushroom Development". Indiamart. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  10. ^ a b ANI. "Protesting farmers are misguided says chief of Sonipat Farmer group". ANI News. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Pro-farm legislation farmers threatened? Padma Shri awardee kisan alleges receiving intimidating calls". Times Now. 14 December 2020.
  12. ^ "नए कृषि कानूनों का समर्थन करने पर प्रगतिशील किसान पद्मश्री कंवल सिंह चौहान को मिल रही धमकी" (in Hindi). Amar Ujala. 16 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Mahindra Samriddhi Agri Awards 2015". Mahindra Tractors. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  14. ^ "AIFA Progressive Farmer Awards 2017 Declared". ICFA via Twitter. 13 December 2017.