“Though we did not nominate ourselves, they saw our work through the media and our website,” agriculture commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh.

It is not decided how the award money would be used. The citation requests the department to give the prize money to the “best or the first farmers of the project”.

Deshmukh said that in 2007, the award, constituted in 2006, was presented to noted agriculture scientist and father of India’s Green Revolution M S Swaminathan.

The citation says, “recognising the damaging effects of long-term use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides by farmers, your department undertook to train 320 assistant supervisors who will give a one-year course on organic farming to 6,500 farmers. The programme will equip them with the expertise to adopt nature’s ways of growing agriculture produce. The system will create 65,000 hectares of land under organic farming and once this significant milestone is achieved, it will create a ripple effect, attracting and inspiring many more to follow.

Deshmukh said that till now, over 2.77 lakh hectares of land had been certified for organic farming. “Over 6.5 lakh hectares in the state have come under organic farming. Out of this around 2.77 lakh hectares have been certified by four certifying agencies. The department has also undertaken a special drive to promote organic farming in six distressed districts of the state with grants of about Rs 30 crore,” he said.

To continue spreading awareness about organic farming, the state has organised a workshop, Maha-organic - 2009, from December 18 to 21. This will create awareness on organic farming, its method demonstrations and encourage direct interaction between buyers and sellers, Deshmukh said.