The Uttar Pradesh government has planned to establish several seed parks across the state in order to achieve self-reliance in the production of improved seeds for cash crops.

According to Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, the government is targeting to produce seeds worth Rs 3,000 crore annually.

The seed parks will be developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, covering an estimated 1,200 hectares across the state.

Currently, UP spends Rs 3,000 crore each year importing seeds for major cash crops such as paddy, wheat, pulses, maize, barley, vegetables and oilseeds from other states.

“These seed parks will help reduce our annual seed procurement bill and also generate employment in rural areas,” the minister said.

The seed parks will be spread across the state’s five regions – Western UP, Terai (Himalayan foothills), Central UP, Bundelkhand and Eastern UP – each designed to suit the region’s specific agro-climatic conditions.

Six government farms run by the Agriculture department are already equipped with basic facilities, and have been identified for such parks. These farms will be leased to PPP partners, with smaller seed parks covering 200-300 hectares and larger ones exceeding 400 hectares.

UP, with India’s largest cultivable land area of 16.6 million hectares – over 80 per cent of which is irrigated – currently imports hybrid seeds primarily from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The state imports a significant percentage of seeds – 22 per cent of wheat, 51 per cent of paddy, 74 per cent of maize, 95 per cent of barley, 50 per cent of pulses and 52 per cent of oilseeds.

Despite its fertile land and extensive irrigation, UP lags in per hectare yields, owing to outdated farming practices and the use of low quality seeds. For example, wheat production in the state is 26.75 quintals per hectare, compared to Punjab’s 40.35 quintals per hectare, and paddy production in UP is 37.35 quintals per hectare, compared to Haryana’s 45.33 quintals per hectare. Improved seed quality could increase yields by 15-20 per cent.

To support the agricultural sector, the state government, in collaboration with the private sector, is facilitating several services related to seeds, sowing and farm residue for bioenergy. Additionally, UP has partnered with Google to provide timely weather and crop information to farmers, and AgCare Technologies has launched ‘Golden Farms’, an agro-marketplace offering sowing and farming guidance to small and medium farmers in the state.

Biofuel Circle has also created ‘Biomass Banks’ to collect farm residue, which is then supplied to compressed biogas plants operated by public-sector oil marketing companies in UP.