In a grand culmination of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited’s (TAFE) ‘Be a #FarmDost’ School Contest, students from Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy attended the ‘Be a #FarmDost’ Award Ceremony held at TAFE’s JFarm in Kelambakkam on February 28, 2016. The award ceremony was graced by, TAFE Chairman and CEO, Ms. Mallika Srinivsasan who also felicitated all the winners of the ‘Be a #FarmDost’ contest. In attendance were more than 350 students, teachers and parents who had embraced the ‘Be a #FarmDost’ initiative. These participants were part of the 63 schools from the four cities visited by TAFE as part of its ‘Be a #FarmDost’ initiative to recognize the farmer for his contribution to the society and the nation at large.
Ms. Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman and CEO – TAFE, speaking about the event said, “As part of our philosophy of ‘Cultivating the World’, TAFE’s ‘Be a #FarmDost’ initiative is aimed at bringing the farming community, back in to our social consciousness and remind everyone of the great service they render to the world. The school activity was conducted to raise awareness among the students – the citizens of tomorrow, about the importance of farmers and farming, and it found instant acceptance. We must acknowledge the hard work and perseverance of these students; their teachers and parents as they played a crucial part in helping build the ‘Be a #FarmDost’ initiative to its current stature; this award ceremony is just a small way of recognizing their efforts.”
The award ceremony felicitated both students and schools from each of the four cities (Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy) who participated in the ‘Best #FarmDost Award’ and ‘#ThankYouFarmers Award’ respectively. Speaking on the participation of students and schools in the ‘Be a #FarmDost’ initiative, Mr. T. R. Kesavan – TAFE Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Product Strategy and Corporate Relations, said, “The schools and the students understood the essence of the initiative and through their participationin the contests, presented a wonderful tribute to the farmer. We have had over 2000 students from different parts of the state participating and many of them even visited farmers as part of the #ThankYouFarmers contest. As an experience, we hope that it would have a lasting impact on the students as well as the farmers.”
The awards were also presented to participating students and schools in a special ‘#FarmDost Social Award’ category. A ‘Champion of Champions’ Award was also presented to three schools – The Fathima Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai; Sevalaya Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School, Chennai and Yuva Bharathi Public School, Coimbatore, from among all the participating schools (four cities) based on the combined participation percentage in the ‘Best #FarmDost Award’ and ‘#ThankYouFarmers Award’. Among the students, Ms. G. Nithya Dharsini from National Model Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Coimbatore was crowned the ‘Champion of Champions’ from among all the participating students (four cities).
The ‘Be a #FarmDost’ Award Ceremony offered students the opportunity to experience the joys of a farm. With TAFE’s JFarm – an adaptive agri-research centre spread over 200 acres, as the venue, the award ceremony was the perfect place for students to receive a hands-on experience in a farm. The agenda for the day in addition to the ‘Be a #FarmDost’ Award Ceremony included, an organic farm trail with opportunities to harvest crops, tractor ride, knowledge sessions on farming by eminent agriculturists and interaction with farmers.
Check out the complete album of the award ceremony on the ‘Be a #FarmDost‘ Facebook page @ tinyurl.com/hu2khsr