Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh has reached close to the national average productivity in rice productivity. It has to be taken further with collective efforts. Along with this, for self-reliance in pulses and oilseeds, the government has provided free seeds to 10 lakh farmers. This was said by the Agriculture Minister of the state, Surya Pratap Shahi, while organizing the Divisional Kharif Productivity Seminar-2024 in the Annexe Bhawan located at Circuit House, Gorakhpur on Saturday. During the program, he appealed to all the officials and participating farmers that we have to make the state excellent in the agricultural sector through collective efforts. He also assured the farmers to find a proper solution to each of their problems.
He appealed to the farmers to pay attention to horticulture, animal husbandry and fisheries along with agriculture so that their livelihood can increase. The state government is also making continuous efforts for this through various schemes. He said that Uttar Pradesh has to be made the leading state in the country in the agricultural sector. The minister said that for self-reliance in pulses and oilseeds, the government has provided free seeds to 10 lakh farmers. As a result of these efforts, there has been an unprecedented increase in the production of pulses in the state in the last seven years. Along with pulses, the state government is also working for the production of oilseeds. In the last 7 years, the production of oilseeds has increased by about 8.5 lakh tonnes.
The minister said that efforts are being made to increase milk production through Nand Baba Dudh Mission and Gau-Samvardhan Yojana. Farmers are also being encouraged for fodder production. He said that the government is continuously working for agricultural development and farmer welfare through efforts like timely payment to sugarcane farmers, distribution of gypsum for wasteland development, subsidy on agricultural equipment to FPO, continuous increase in MSP etc. He said that a seed hub has been created for seeds. He said that seed parks are also being built in the state so that farmers can produce seeds along with buying seeds.
He called upon the farmers to cultivate Dhaicha and said that it is a very low cost agriculture which will make the health of the land better along with the income. On this occasion, Agriculture Production Commissioner Manoj Kumar Singh said that farmers should do linear sowing on flat land to increase production. Adopt micro irrigation methods such as sprinkler and drip irrigation method. Additional Chief Secretary Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi assured the farmers that there is no shortage of seeds and fertilizers in the state.
He instructed the officers present to keep a strict vigil on illegal export of fertilizers across the interstate border. Principal Secretary Animal Husbandry Department Shri Ravinder also made the farmers aware of the schemes being run by the department for animal husbandry and requested the farmers to get their animals ear tagged.
Farmer brothers must register their animals on the Pashudhan App so that they can easily get various government assistance. Director Agriculture, Director Horticulture and Commissioner Rural Development, who participated in the seminar, made the farmers aware of the schemes, policies and activities being run by their respective departments for the overall welfare of the farmers and also requested them to take maximum benefit from these schemes
