Lucknow, 23 Dec: Uttar Pradesh’s agricultural development rate must be doubled if the state is to become a growth engine and the country’s largest economy, according to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday. He also stated at a gathering to commemorate Kisan Samman Diwas-2022 that Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and technology may play a vital role in achieving this goal.
Adityanath praised former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh for his farmer welfare work, saying, “After independence, Chaudhary Saheb emphasised that agriculture and farming inside the country needed to be prioritised if India was to develop as a major worldwide force. This idea of his is still a beacon of hope for farmers in India.”
According to an official release, the chief minister opened an FPO product exhibition in Lucknow, as well as recognising and honouring farmers, agri-entrepreneurs, and agricultural scientists. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that when he took office in 2014, he began a variety of programmes to fulfil Chaudhary Saheb’s aim of transforming the lives of ‘annadata’ farmers and double their income. “The goal of these programmes was to cut expenses while increasing productivity.”
Adityanath stated, “Listing farmer welfare programmes in Uttar Pradesh, to begin with, our government erased debts totaling Rs 36,000 crore for 86 lakh farmers in March 2017. Additional irrigation facilities for 22 lakh hectares of land have been provided during the previous 5.5 years. Furthermore, approximately Rs 51,000 crore has already been deposited to the bank accounts of over 2.60 crore farmers in Uttar Pradesh.”
For the first time in independent India, the farmer became a part of the country’s political agenda, and welfare packages were made available to him, he said, adding that people have seen how technology can be used to agriculture during the last eight years.
“Crops, including paddy, seeds, pulses and oilseeds were acquired from farmers in record amounts on MSP, and the price of their crops was delivered straight to their accounts, cutting out the intermediaries. Farmers were also given a sugarcane price of Rs 1.84 lakh crore,? he added.
He also stated that no sugar mills were closed throughout the epidemic, and that the state had 119 sugar mills operational.
“In the past, sugar mill owners worked according to their preferences,” the chief minister remarked, criticising previous governments for shutting sugar mills. The administration used to keep mute in their presence. Previously, every sugar mill was sold; however, under our government, no sugar mills were sold, and instead, new ones were built.
He stated that despite the fact that Uttar Pradesh has a huge number of small and marginal farmers; farmers with tiny holdings are unable to embrace the technology. That is why the involvement of FPOs will be critical. Adityanath stated that the prime minister has introduced a new agricultural concept to the country’s farmers in the shape of national natural farming. “Natural farming experience teaches a lot. The monsoon arrived late this season, but the annadata farmers who practise natural farming had previously made preparations, and their yield was high.”
