Prakash Puppalwar

Prakash Puppalwar has been recognized as a progressive farmer by Maharashtra India. He was among the first farmers to adopt Bt cotton when it was introduced in India in 2002. He did experiments on his farm with Bt cotton, including the use of micro-irrigation, micro-fertigation, plastic mulching and pheromone traps. He works to drive adoption of these techniques among other farmers as well. Prakash farms 11 hectares with 7 hectares under full irrigation and the rest partially irrigated. In addition to using hybrid seed and the techniques outlined above, his farm also uses solar power. His multi-crop system includes Bt cotton, soybeans, pigeon peas, bananas, turmeric and watermelon. He produces a crop for green manure, to add organic matter to the soil to increase organic Corban. Some of his production is organic. He provides timely guidelines to area farmers in order to advance the use of modern farming techniques. Prakash has been recognized with the Progressive Farmer Award by the Indian Cotton Association and by CII Mumbai. Manavseva Foundation recognized him with the Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krushiratn Puraskar award for appreciation of his work in agriculture. He was appointed a resource person by the Government of Maharashtra to guide farmers. He was also appointed to the Atma committee by the Government of Maharashtra.