By TNN

The Uttar Pradesh government plans to increase the area under oilseeds cultivation from 22 lakh hectares to 27 lakh hectares to achieve the target of producing 100 lakh tonnes of additional oilseeds by 2030-31.
The aim is to become self-reliant in production of edible oils and pulses.

The Uttar Pradesh government has chalked out a strategy to boost the production of oilseeds and pulses and reduce the state’s dependence on imports to meet the domestic needs. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had observed that the Bundelkhand region has immense potential in production of such crops, directing officials to prepare a concrete action plan to augment the production as per demand. The government also aims to increase productivity from 11 quintals per hectare to 12.5 quintals per hectare and total production from 22 lakh tonnes to 31 lakh tonnes, that is, additional 9 lakh metric tonnes of oilseeds, in the next five years.

The government will implement several measures to enhance its production, which includes seed production of new species in agricultural universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras.

As many as 100 seed processing plants will be set up while agricultural production organisations will be encouraged for seed production. The seeds produced by farmers and other organisations will be distributed to farmers as grants available under various schemes through the Uttar Pradesh Beej Vikas Nigam.

The production area will be increased through intercropping with crops like jowar, bajra and sugarcane. Along with this, small and marginal farmers will be made self-sufficient in the production of oilseeds by giving them mini kits.

Similarly, the Yogi government targets to produce more than 325.47 lakh tonnes of pulses by 2025-26.

To increase the production of pulses, the Yogi government will work towards the development and propagation of short-term crop species. In addition, coordinated strategy will be implemented in districts identified for the cropping of toor (pigeon peas), masoor (red lentils) and urad (black lentils) pulses.

In Uttar Pradesh, gram, masoor and mustard are mostly cultivated in the regions of Bundelkhand and Agra. The land of Bundelkhand is considered favourable for pulses and oilseeds as such crops require a dry climate. In Bundelkhand, gram, peas and lentils are mainly sown in the Rabi season while oilseeds such as mustard, linseed and rapeseed are also cultivated. The government is making efforts to further boost the production of these crops here as per its potential.

The central government is also providing support to the state to fulfil the objective of self-reliance in production of edible oils. For oilseeds production, NFSM – Oilseeds programme is providing support to UP for seed components covering purchase of breeder seeds, production of certified seeds, distribution of certified seeds, supply of seed minikits, creation of seed hubs.

The programme is also giving support for production inputs component covering Plant Protection (PP) equipment, PP chemicals, nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV)/bio agent, gypsum/pyrites/lime etc.

This article has been republished from The Times of India.