In a press conference on Saturday, AAU vice-chancellor Bidyut Chandan Deka said, "This is for the first time that farmers of two ethnic tribes in the NE have bagged national awards in two categories. The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority, established by the Central government, under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001, confers the 'Plant Genome Saviour Community Award' annually on the basis of short listing and site verification of the applications received from the community of farmers/farming community-based organizations who have a long track record for conserving plant agro-biodiversity.

Similarly, the authority confers the 'Plant Genome Saviour Farmer Recognition' award to the farmers engaged in the conservation of genetic resources of landraces and wild relatives of economic plants and their improvement through selection and preservation and the material so selected and preserved has been used as donors of gene in varieties registered under the PPV & FR Act, 2001."