‘Farmers’ income to be doubled by 2022’
Reiterating the commitment of the government to double the income of farmers by 2022, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday sought to make it clear that all the endeavours of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and his government in the state were aimed towards this and the overall welfare of the farmer community.
He said it was for everyone to see and realise that ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power, the welfare of farmers had always been on top of the agenda.
“I appeal to you to not be misguided by the misinformation campaign unleashed by the opposition and be assured that we are not going to leave a single stone unturned to ensure your betterment,” the chief minister said while making an impassioned appeal to farmers during his interaction with the farmers at Acharya Narendra Dev Agriculture University, Kumarganj in Ayodhya.
The UP chief minister laid the foundation stones and dedicated 40 projects worth about Rs 90 crore for agriculture, agriculture science and research, animal husbandry, fishery and irrigation in Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Basti, Bahraich, Barabanki, Balrampur, Siddharth Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Amethi, Sultanpur, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Mau, Chandauli and Sonbhadra.
The chief minister announced on this occasion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would transfer in the accounts of nine crore farmers a total sum of Rs 18,000 crore under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi on December 25, the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Out of these, as many as 2.30 crore farmers belong to Uttar Pradesh.
Yogi Adityanath made it clear that contract farming was the need of the time and it was not going to hurt the interests of the farmers in any way and would instead increase their incomes considerably.
He said the government was already giving guarantee that the farmers would get the right price for their produce.
“The farmers also have the liberty to sell their produce wherever they get the best price and the government will not have any kind of interference with their decision and will also ensure that they do not have any kind of loss,” he added.
“Some people are trying to misguide the farmers and spreading rumours that the minimum support price (MSP) will be quashed and the mandis will be closed. Time and again our prime minister is assuring that nothing of this kind is going to happen and it is our continuous endeavour that the farmers get the best returns for their produce and their income is doubled,” Yogi asserted.
The chief minister also attacked the opposition parties and said they had no interest in the well-being of the farmers, adding that earlier middlemen and brokers had the upper hand.
“The Swaminathan Commission’s report (on the MSP) was never taken cognisance of as the Congress had nothing to do with the interests of the farmers. Now the same people are again protesting the agriculture bills that are completely in the favour and interest of the farmers and the youth,” Yogi said.
The chief minister said in order to infuse the latest technique in agriculture and promote research in the field, the state government had set up 20 Kisan Vigyan Kendras with the assistance of the agriculture universities in the past three years.
“Some of these centres will be upgraded to centres of excellence so that the latest studies and researches reach the farmers in the right earnest,” he pointed out.
Recalling that his government in its first cabinet meeting in 2017 had decided to waive loans of the farmers he said loans amounting to Rs 36,000 crore loans were waived, benefiting about 86 lakh farmers.
“Even during the COVID-19 times, the state government continued its efforts for the betterment of the farmers and 26 lakh MT of wheat and 52 lakh MT of paddy has been purchased so far,” he added.