Yogi announces plan to develop model agri areas
Implementation of project will help acquaint farmers with the latest technology and pave way for increasing their income
LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said Rahimabad, Katiyar and Kasimabad on the outskirts of Lucknow would be developed as model agriculture areas at an estimated expenditure of Rs 52.76 crore.
Implementation of this project will help acquaint farmers with the latest technology and pave the way for increasing their income, Adityanath said.
He made the announcement while laying the foundation stone for a centre of excellence for agriculture at the state agricultural management institute, Rehmankhera here. The centre of excellence would be established with a budget of Rs 22.78 crore.
The chief minister honoured Bharat Bhushan Tyagi, a Padma Shri awardee, for his achievements in the agriculture sector on the occasion.
Adityanath said the Uttar Pradesh government had waived loans of small and marginal farmers and other states had followed UP’s lead but they were not as successful. Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had done a lot for farmers, he said the BJP government had implemented the soil health testing scheme and issued four crore soil health cards to cultivators.
He also said the prime minister was working “tirelessly for the villagers, farmers, poor, downtrodden, youths, women and backward classes. People had already started feeling the difference due to these efforts and this was the first time that the farmers were on top of any prime minister’s agenda, he said.
“Farmers cannot thrive with- out proper irrigation. Our government has extended irrigation facilities to over two lakh hectares in 23 months and another 20 lakh hectares will be covered by the year-end,” Adityanath said.
He also said, “The BJP government completed those projects which were pending for years together, including the Ban Sagar project, which was started in 1978 but had remained incomplete due to a lack of political will. The BJP government completed the project and the prime minister inaugurated it on July 15, 2018.”The chief minister said around 2.14 crore small and marginal farmers would get Rs 6,000 in three installments. Seven crore families were given cooking gas connections through the Ujjwala scheme, he said.
Agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi, minister of state for agriculture Ranvendra Pratap Singh (Dhunni Singh) and BJP’s Mohanlalganj MP Kaushal Kishore also addressed the gathering.