Renowned conservationist Dr Prabin Saikia of Madhabpur, Narayanpur in Lakhimpur district has been selected for the prestigious Plant Genome Saviour Farmer Recognition for 2016-17.
Curated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the award comprises cash of Rs 1 lakh, a citation and a memento and Dr Saikia will receive it formally on Tuesday.
He has been shortlisted for the award along with five others hailing from Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal.
Dr Saikia will be presented the award by union agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar in a function to be held at Dr BP Pal Auditorium, IARI, Pusa Campus, New Delhi.
Dr Saikia often says “plants have feelings too” and he has been singing to his plants every evening.
His garden of five bighas called Bana Tirtha is filled with rare, indigenous plants from Assam and the Northeast.
He taught Assamese at Bihpuria College for 33 years.