The Uttarakhand government will come out with a new agriculture policy only after the Lok Sabha elections, said state agriculture minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.
With the land for special economic zones and other industrial projects falling short, the government’s draft agriculture policy is focusing on special agriculture zones (SAZs).
Under an SAZ, the government has proposed setting up of self-employment industrial units like fisheries, tea gardens, dairy farming and other agriculture and horticulture activities. “Through SAZs, we are trying to protect our agriculture land and bring food security,” said Rawat.
The draft agri-policy clearly states that there should be no industrialisation on agriculture land in the state, he said. Nearly 312,000 hectare of non-agriculture and 383,000 of non-cultivated agriculture land is available in the hill state.
The government would also offer special sops like electricity, water supply and seeds on cheap rates to farmers. In addition, toll free call centres for farmers would be set up throughout the state, he said.