How to Improve Agricultural Growth in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh (UP), India’s most populous state and a leading contributor to national food grain production, has immense agricultural potential. Despite its strengths, challenges like low farmer incomes, small landholdings, and water-intensive practices limit growth. With agriculture contributing 16.8% to UP’s GDP in 2023-24 and supporting 65% of the population, strategic interventions can boost productivity, sustainability, and farmer prosperity. Here’s a guide to improving agricultural growth in Uttar Pradesh, drawing on proven strategies and local insights.

1. Enhance Irrigation Efficiency and Water Management

UP has 86% of its agricultural land under irrigation, making it vulnerable to water stress from climate change and water-intensive crops like rice and sugarcane. Improving water-use efficiency is critical:

• Promote Micro-Irrigation: Expand micro-irrigation (drip and sprinkler systems) from 200,000 to 750,000 hectares, as targeted by the UP Accelerator PRAGATI initiative, to save water and boost yields.

• Adopt Climate-Smart Practices: Encourage water conservation schemes like Khet Talab Yojana and Amrit Sarovar to improve groundwater levels, as seen in Bundelkhand and Purvanchal with production increases of 2.09% and 7.89%, respectively.

• Upgrade Infrastructure: Strengthen canal systems (74,660 km) and tube wells (32,000 in use) to ensure reliable water supply, reducing dependence on diesel pumps. Replace diesel pumps with solar pumps for small farmers to cut costs and emissions.

2. Boost Farm Mechanization

With 93% of UP’s farmers operating small or marginal landholdings (average size 0.73 ha), mechanization can improve productivity and reduce labour costs:

• Increase Access to Machinery: Provide affordable access to modern equipment like tractors, harvesters, and seed drills through subsidies and rental models. The UP Accelerator PRAGATI notes that a 1% increase in mechanization boosts crop yields by 1.6%.

• Establish Custom Hiring Centers: Set up more centres in rural areas to rent out machinery, especially in regions like Bundelkhand, where small farmers face resource constraints.

• Promote Precision Farming: Introduce technologies like AI, IoT, and drones for soil testing, pest management, and crop monitoring, as supported by the Digital Agriculture Export Promotion Council (DAEP).

3. Encourage Crop Diversification

UP’s agriculture is dominated by rice, wheat, and sugarcane, but diversifying into high-value crops can increase incomes and nutrition:

• Focus on Horticulture: Expand cultivation of mangoes, guavas, amla, and vegetables like potatoes and onions, leveraging UP’s leadership in horticultural production. Districts like Lucknow, Saharanpur, and Pratapgarh are already major producers.

• Promote Millets and Pulses: The Uttar Pradesh Millets Revival Program supports crops like jowar, bajra, and ragi, which are less water-intensive and nutrient-rich. Processing units, like the one in Ghazipur (₹95 lakh investment), can add value to millets.

• Support Organic Farming: Scale up organic farming initiatives with certification programs and market linkages to improve soil health and fetch premium prices, as seen in UP’s organic farming policy.

4. Strengthen Post-Harvest Infrastructure

Significant post-harvest losses, especially for perishables, reduce farmer incomes. Enhancing infrastructure can address this:

• Develop Agro-Processing Parks: Invest in the 15 agro and food processing parks in Varanasi, Barabanki, and Bareilly, which create jobs and reduce losses through processing, preservation, and packaging.

• Improve Cold Storage and Warehousing: Expand the 1,909 cold chains and establish multi-commodity cooling centres to prevent distress selling, as supported by the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.

• Enhance Market Linkages: Strengthen eNAM mandis (100 in UP) and create export hubs near Jewar Airport to connect farmers to global markets for crops like mangoes, turmeric, and Kalanamak rice (GI-tagged).

5. Leverage Technology and Agritech

Adopting modern technologies can transform UP’s agriculture by improving efficiency and market access:

• Promote Digital Agriculture: The Digital Agriculture Mission and DAEP encourage agritech services like blockchain for supply chain transparency and AI for crop advisory. Training 2,000 farmers via hi-tech nurseries (in collaboration with Israel) has already shown success.

• Expand High-Tech Nurseries: The 150 hi-tech nurseries across 75 districts provide quality saplings and seeds, boosting yields for crops like mangoes and spices.

• Support Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs): The 35 FPOs in UP can aggregate produce, adopt digital tools, and negotiate better prices, as seen in potato and spice clusters.

6. Increase Access to Finance and Insurance

Low incomes (₹6,668 per month in 2015-16) and limited credit access hinder farmers’ ability to invest in inputs.

• Expand Kisan Credit Card (KCC): Provide easy loans up to ₹3 lakh for 5 years to help farmers purchase seeds, fertilizers, and equipment.

• Strengthen Crop Insurance: Scale up the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) with a proposed ₹753.7 crore budget to protect farmers from crop losses due to droughts or floods.

• Support Women Farmers: The UP-AGREES project by the World Bank emphasizes financial access for women farmers to adopt climate-resilient practices, targeting 1 million farmers.

7. Improve Power Supply for Agriculture

Erratic power supply forces farmers to rely on diesel pumps, increasing costs. Addressing this can enhance irrigation efficiency:

• Adopt Solar Pumps: Replace diesel pumps with solar-powered ones, as recommended by the UP government, to reduce costs and ensure reliable irrigation for small farmers.

• Reduce Transmission Losses: The 24.5% transmission and distribution losses in 2015-16 need to be addressed through infrastructure upgrades to ensure consistent power for tube wells.

8. Focus on Regional Strengths

UP’s nine agro-climatic zones (e.g., Bundelkhand, Terai, Vindhyachal) require tailored strategies:

• Bundelkhand: Promote drought-resistant crops like pulses and millets, supported by water conservation schemes, given its 3.7% growth despite water scarcity.

• Western UP: Leverage advanced irrigation for high-value crops like sugarcane and mangoes, with districts like Meerut leading in sugarcane quality.

• Eastern UP: Focus on paddy and horticulture, with schemes like PM-KISAN (₹6,000 annual support) boosting small farmer incomes in Purvanchal.

Conclusion

Improving agricultural growth in Uttar Pradesh requires a blend of technology, infrastructure, and farmer empowerment. By enhancing irrigation, mechanization, and market linkages, and leveraging initiatives like UP Accelerator PRAGATI and DAEP, UP can become a global leader in sustainable agriculture. Start by exploring schemes like PM-KISAN or visiting agro parks to see how these efforts are transforming farming in the state. With collective action, Uttar Pradesh can cultivate prosperity for its farmers and strengthen its agricultural legacy.