Lucknow, 23 December. If we want to take forward Uttar Pradesh as the growth engine of the country’s economy, then we will have to double the rate of agricultural development from the present rate. It has potential in Uttar Pradesh. 16 percent of the country’s population is in Uttar Pradesh, while 11 percent is agricultural land. It is the most fertile land in the country. We also have the best water resources. 20 percent of the total food grains of the entire country comes from Uttar Pradesh. If we plan our resources properly, we can take it further. The role of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) will be important in this. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said these things while inaugurating the exhibition of FPO’s products on the occasion of Kisan Samman Diwas in Lucknow and honoring and awarding farmers, agricultural entrepreneurs and agricultural scientists. On the occasion of Kisan Samman Diwas, the Chief Minister also paid tribute to former Prime Minister of India and farmer leader Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Beginning his address, the Chief Minister said that we all know that immediately after independence, Chaudhary Saheb had made it clear that if India has to emerge as a power in the world, attention will have to be paid to agriculture and farming within the country. . The path of India’s development will emerge from the fields and barns. This visionary vision of his stands as a guide for the farmers and farming families of independent India. In order to make Chaudhary’s dreams come true and to bring about a comprehensive change in the lives of Annadata farmers, Prime Minister Modi started several programs in 2014 to double their income. The system of Soil Health Card was started to protect the health of Mother Earth, which feeds us all and becomes the basis of self-reliance and respect. Fasal Kisan Bima Yojana was started for the first time. With the introduction of the schemes, their proper implementation was also ensured.
Referring to the work done for the farmers in Uttar Pradesh, the Chief Minister said that in the last five and a half years, we have started many programs in the state. First of all, in March 2017, he took up the loan waiver program of Rs 36,000 crore for 86 lakh farmers. Additional irrigation facilities were made available to about 22 lakh hectare land. Whether it is the work of implementing PM Kisan Samman Nidhi or MSP one and a half times the cost, all these are being implemented effectively. So far, an amount of Rs 51 thousand crore has been sent to the accounts of 2.60 crore farmers within Uttar Pradesh. Within the state, paddy, seeds, pulses and oilseeds were procured in record quantity without any middlemen. At the same time, the work of giving them MSP in their account through DBT was done. Sugar mills were not allowed to shut down even during the Corona pandemic. All the sugar mills were sold in the previous governments, but in this government the sugar mills were not sold, rather new sugar mills have been set up. New mills were established where the sugar mills were in dilapidated condition. Many sugar mills were expanded.
Emphasizing on natural farming in the state, the CM said that Prime Minister Modi has given a new concept of farming in the form of National Natural Farming to the Annadata farmers of the country. The experience of natural farming teaches a lot. This time the monsoon came late, but the Annadata farmers associated with natural farming had already made preparations and their productivity was good. In one acre of farming, a farmer spends 15 thousand in fertilizer, chemical and pesticide, whereas in natural farming this cost comes to only one thousand rupees. That is, a farmer can save 14 thousand in one acre of farming. If we remain connected with this program from time to time, then the same good productivity also remains.
CM Yogi also emphasized the need to link natural farming with certification. He said that we have done the work of linking it with certification as well. A lab should be established at every commissionerate level within the state. Establish a lab in every Krishi Vigyan Kendra where the process of its certification is done. Here we certify that this product is organic. Its price will be good in the market. Our Annadata farmer in the state has made good efforts for this. In all the 27 districts on the banks of the Ganges and in all the seven districts of Bundelkhand, we have worked to take forward the program of natural farming in mission mode by linking it with the Government of India. The result of this is that many possibilities are visible today. We can grow organic crops. We can start good efforts in the process of production of vegetables and its export promotion. Through technology, food providers can save time and cost by using drones to spray pesticides to farmers instead of doing it manually.