Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi on Thursday said that following the proper implementation of the new methods and beneficial schemes for the agrarian community, the foodgrain production in the state had increased by about 18 lakh metric tonnes.

Shahi said that about 10 lakh metric tonnes of kharif, seven lakh metric tonnes of wheat and one lakh metric tonnes of oilseed production had increased by training farmers in a two-phased manner through million farm schools. Despite the drought and floods, the area of transplantation was not allowed to be reduced, he added.

Underscoring the encouraging developments in the field, Singh told mediapersons in Mathura on Thursday morning that 80 per cent grant was given on seeds of kharif crop in Bundelkhand and the same got favourable results, adding that the availability of fertilisers and seeds was also a reason for increased agricultural production. He added that changes made in the ‘mandi’ laws had also made a positive effect.

He pointed out that a business of approximately four-and-a-half thousand crore rupees had been made by virtue of e-marketing. He added that by making arrangements for the procurement of paddy, wheat, pulse gram, lentils, mustard, the farmers were saved from intermediaries and got the right price for their crops 

The Agriculture Minister said that in a recent survey conducted by a national magazine, UP secured the third spot from its previous 18th position after taking a giant leap in the field of agriculture, adding that it happened for the first time in the last 70 years. “UP is the largest producer of foodgrains today. Most of the wheat production is done in this state,” he said.

Shahi said that the UP government rectified the arrangements for sending grants directly to the account, adding that debt waiver was the biggest reason for the change through which the farmer was liberated from economic pressures and got a much-needed relief. He claimed that there was a huge investment made in farming thereby increasing the agricultural output of the state. The policy was simplified and arrangements were made to send grants to farmers on time.

He added that about 22.5 lakh farmers were distributed Rs 456 crore in the form of different items as Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), which included seed grant, grant for agricultural equipment, sprinkler set solar pump and the grant for vermi-compost. The coverage of farmers under the Prime Minister’s Fiscal Insurance Scheme was also conducted. Apart from this, he said that two crore five lakh health cards of UP farmers were distributed.