Sarbeswar Basumatary
An Assam farmer who rose from ploughman to grower of fruit, fish and silk and now advises other farmers, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.
Sarbeswar Basumatary is a farmer from Chirang district in Assam who has become a model for others in the region. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2024 in the field of agriculture, from Assam [1].
From ploughman to farmer
He was born on 8 April 1962 and studied only up to Class 5 [2]. At 13 he went to work as a ploughman near Bokakhat [2]. In 1984 he returned to Chiponsila to farm, later working land that belonged to landlords [2]. In 1995–96 he bought a plot of his own [2].
Learning and growing
After agricultural training at the Bijni sub-divisional office in 1996, he led the Panbari Banana Growers’ Society and grew bananas, oranges and pineapples with good results [2]. He went on to train in fisheries in 2007 and in horticulture at Kalyani University, and has visited farms in other states and abroad [2].
He now sits on the advisory board of Chirang’s fisheries department and on local bodies for the Krishi Vigyan Kendra and sericulture, and since 2017 has promoted the Bordosila Farmer Producer Company [2].
Honours
He received the Central Silk Board’s award of excellence in sericulture in 2015, Assam Agricultural University’s best farmer award in 2022, and the Assam Gaurav award in 2022–23 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2024: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 15 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2024: citation for Sarbeswar Basumatary — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 15 October 2026.
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