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Gujarat Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani on Wednesday presented the Agriculture Leadership Award 2026 before Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and the state's council of ministers, which recognised the outstanding work of the state in the horticulture sector.
According to a release issued by the Chief Minister's office, the Gujarat government's Agriculture Department recently received the Agriculture Leadership Award 2026 in New Delhi. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had presented the award to Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani at the 17th Agriculture Leadership Conclave, recognising the Agriculture Department's outstanding work in the horticulture sector. At the state cabinet meeting in Gandhinagar, the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and the Council of Ministers congratulated the State Agriculture Department on this national recognition. Earlier during the award ceremony, the Gujarat Agriculture Minister stated that under the leadership of the then Chief Minister and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat had earlier received the Agriculture Leadership Award as the Best Agriculture State in 2009, 2014, and 2018 for its innovative initiatives in the agriculture sector. A press release said that Vaghani noted that during Narendra Modi's tenure as Chief Minister, pioneering initiatives such as the Krushi Mahotsav, Soil Health Card programme and drip irrigation transformed the state's agriculture sector, helping Gujarat achieve the country's highest agricultural growth rate of 9.9% during the Tenth Five-Year Plan. Thereafter, Gujarat was once again recognised as the Best Agriculture State in 2018, and in 2019, the state received the Agriculture Leadership Award for its outstanding performance in the animal husbandry sector. After seven years, Gujarat has once again been honoured with the prestigious Agriculture Leadership Award, this time for excellence in the horticulture sector. The Minister said this recognition is not only a matter of pride for the state but also a key milestone that will inspire Gujarat to achieve new benchmarks in the field of agriculture, a press release said. At the award ceremony, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde, Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, former Chief Justice of India and Jury Chairman Justice P. Sathasivam, and other distinguished dignitaries lauded Gujarat's progressive agricultural policies and congratulated the Government of Gujarat and the state's farmers on receiving this prestigious honour. (ANI)
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