B’khand holds key to bridging pulses gap

FOCUS AREA Region’s climate also ideal for production of oil seeds, may help reduce the state’s reliance on imports

LUCKNOW: The agriculture department has chalked out a plan to help farmers grow new and highyielding varieties of pulses and oil seeds in the Bundelkhand region as its climate is ideal for such crops requiring minimum irrigation.

The move may help the state increase the production of pulses and oilseeds. At present, Uttar Pradesh is highly deficient in their production and heavily dependent on imports.

Under the plan, the government will provide backward linkages to farmers in the form of subsidy, seeds and technology to encourage them to cultivate pulses and oil seeds.

“We have asked district magistrates of the districts comprising Bundelkhand to get feedback from farmers and send their report to the government about farmers’ requirements for cultivating pulses and oil seeds on a large scale,” principal secretary, agriculture, Devashish Panda told Hindustan Times.

He said once the inputs were received from DMs, the agricul- ture department would prepare a detailed strategy and also give a presentation on it. “We will not only provide backward linkages to farmers, but also provide the facility of marketing the produce,” he claimed.

“The state hardly produces onefourth of its requirement of pulses and oil seeds,” said a senior official in the agriculture department.

Panda said efforts were also being made to make the national agriculture insurance policy more attractive to farmers so that they would take the risk of shifting from traditional crops to alternative ones. “We are also trying to impress upon the Centre the need for treating a village, instead of a block, as a unit to assess damage to crops so that all affected farmers get compensation,” he said. “Besides, National Agriculture Insurance Policy agents should approach farmers at their doorsteps as do the LIC agents.” NO SHORTAGE OF FERTILISERS

Panda claimed that unlike earlier when there was always a hue and cry for fertilisers in the state with newspapers widely reporting it, there was no such crisis this time. “We have prepared an input calendar for the year, ensuring that fertilisers, seeds, and pesticides are made available to farmers on time as per their requirement,” he claimed. He said the government had also prepared a five-year seed replacement plan with a view to introducing new varieties with better yield.