CM: FPOs to be opened in all UP gram panchayats

With the aim of doubling the income of farmers in the next three years, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the goal of his government was to open Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in all gram panchayats so that farmers could get an easy market at their doorsteps.

“The FPOs will be opened in all blocks of the state in the first phase, nyay panchayats in the second phase and in all village panchayats in the third phase. So far 336 FPOs have been opened. Through them, there will be a big change in the agriculture sector,” Yogi said while addressing a conference of progressive farmers in the Lok Bhawan auditorium here on Friday.

The chief minister said that Uttar Pradesh had all the resources but due to the apathy of the previous governments, the farmers were in a pitiable condition.

“The farmers were committing suicide and were not ready to continue with farming. In two years, we have been able to bring in a lot of change,” he said.

“We waived crop loans of up to Rs 1 lakh of small and marginal farmers during the first cabinet meeting and gave relief to potato farmers through market intervention scheme. Paddy and wheat were procured in record quantity at minimum support price (MSP) and the money was transferred to farmers’ accounts within 72 hours. So far, Rs 11,594.18 crore has been sent to the accounts of about 1.83 crore farmers under the Kisan Mandhan Yojana,” he said.

The chief minister said that during the previous governments, the payment of sugarcane farmers was stopped. “The mills were getting closed and being sold. We paid a record Rs 82,000 crore and opened new mills. Today 121 sugar mills are running instead of 116 in the state. Old sugar mills are being modernised and their capacity expanded. There is clear instruction to the mill owners that as long as there is sugarcane in the farmer’s field, the mills should function. This is the reason why the mills kept running till mid-June in the last crushing season,” he said.

The chief minister said that to increase the income of farmers, the emphasis is on maximum production at minimum cost. “That is why the efficient modes of irrigation, drip and sprinkler, are being made mandatory with boring schemes given on grant. Agricultural investment is being provided on time. Through the Krishi Vigyan Kendras and agricultural universities, farmers are being informed about the latest methods of farming. The results of all this is in front of us, he said.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who was the chief guest, called for a change in the system so that farm production in the country could get international branding.

“The Centre as well as the UP government have taken several steps to double the income of the farmers but if the farmers get international branding of their produce, they will be more benefited,” he said.

Birla said that while the UP government had taken several steps to benefit the farmers, the Centre had already made 2022 as the year to hit the target of doubling the farmers income.

“But as everyone knows that agriculture requires hard labour, technology is needed for minimising this labour and also to increase the yield as well as the farmers’ income,” he said.

Talking about water scarcity in Bundelkhand region, which has been raised by Lok Sabha members frequently, Birla said the Yogi Adityanath government was trying to solve the decade-old issue and several schemes had been launched there.

“The government has launched innovative schemes to address the farmers’ woes and in coming days we are expected to get good results,” he added.

Welcoming the guests, UP’s Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi lauded the chief minister’s commitment towards the interest of farmers.

Shahi said that it was a result of Yogi’s commitment that record procurement of paddy and wheat was made at minimum support prices (MSP) and record cane payment was also made. “For the two consecutive years, UP has remained at number one position in the entire country in terms of food production. The state’s agricultural growth rate is at a record rate of 11.5 per cent,” he added.

On the occasion, the Lok Sabha speaker and the chief minister laid the foundation stone of Krishi Vigyan Kendra of Amroha and five Kisan Kalyan Kendras of Hardoi and Barabanki.

On the occasion, acceptance letter of FPO was given to many progressive farmers.