Lucknow, Feb 16 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said the opposition’s expressions of concern for farmers were “occasional and insincere”, asserting that under previous regimes the farming community had been reduced to a mere vote bank.
Replying to the discussion on Governor Anandiben Patel’s address at the start of the Budget session in the Legislative Council, Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state and the largest foodgrain producer, had witnessed neglect of farmers in the past.
He said India was once a global economic leader, commanding 44-45 per cent of the world economy around 2,000 years ago, and about 24-25 per cent even 400 years ago.
During the colonial period, he said, “traditional occupations were dismantled, and farmers were turned from producers into mere consumers, with raw materials exported cheaply and finished goods re-imported at high prices.” Adityanath alleged that earlier state governments had continued with a similar “colonial mindset”, particularly towards farmers linked to MSMEs.
“Before 2017, there was no clear agricultural policy, and farmers faced high input costs, low returns and middlemen dominance,” he said.
“Since 2017, under the BJP’s ‘double-engine’ government, input costs have reduced, and production increased,” he said, adding, “farmers are no longer a vote bank but now partners in development and emerging as entrepreneurs through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), food processing and agri-marketing initiatives.” He claimed the state’s growth rate had risen from 8.5 per cent to 18 per cent and said that procurement at Minimum Support Price was being conducted transparently, with payments transferred directly to farmers’ accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
Despite having only 11 per cent of the country’s agricultural land, Uttar Pradesh contributes 21 per cent of national foodgrain production, he said.
Under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, over Rs 95,000 crore has been transferred to farmers in the state, he added.
The chief minister said that farmers were being provided access to better seeds, natural farming techniques, drones and climate-resilient technologies, along with practical training. Value addition was increasing through FPOs, food processing and agri-marketing, he noted.
Adityanath also referred to action taken after 2017 against illegal slaughterhouses and cattle smuggling, and said over 7,727 cattle shelters were currently operational in the state, protecting more than 16 lakh bovines. Village-based and natural farming were being promoted, he said.
Regarding sugarcane farmers, he said that Uttar Pradesh accounts for 55 per cent of the country’s sugar production. Between 2000 and 2017, Rs 2.14 lakh crore was paid to sugarcane farmers over 17 years, whereas in the past eight years alone, over Rs 3.6 lakh crore has been disbursed — Rs 90,000 crore more in half the time.
The state currently has 122 operational sugar mills, and the cane price has been fixed at Rs 400 per quintal, he said, adding that ethanol production has risen from 41 crore litres to 82 crore litres, creating an assured cash flow under the ethanol-blended petrol programme and ensuring faster payments to farmers.
He emphasised that agricultural infrastructure had been strengthened, with irrigation being provided through canals, pipelines and micro-irrigation systems. Under the PM-KUSUM scheme, solar pumps were being installed and free electricity provided for farmers’ tubewells, he added.
Adityanath said work was underway on an agriculture and technology university in Kushinagar named after Gautam Buddha, and on a seed park in Lucknow named after former prime minister and champion of farmers Chaudhary Charan Singh.
He added that a digital ecosystem and cooperative reforms had strengthened the agricultural framework, reducing loan approval time from three to four days to just five minutes. PTI KIS MPL MPL
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