Uttarakhand agri set for major boost

In its new agri-policy, which would be released shortly, the Uttarakhand government is planning to give interest-free loans for setting up self-employment agriculture industry (SAI) units under the special agriculture zones (SAZs) scheme and said it would privatise mandis in the new Mandi Act.

"Under the SAZ, we are planning to set up self-employment agriculture industry (SAI) units through the integrated farming system approach," Agriculture Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today said.

Under this provision, the government is also planning to give interest-free loans to the new SAI units in sectors like fishing, dairy farming and water mills.

He said the government is also planning to bring a separate mandi act under which mandis in the state are being privatised.

Top private companies which intend to procure crops from Uttarakhand would be levied a premium of 30 per cent. In this regard, Rawat pointed out that the government has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ITC for wheat procurement in Udham Singh Nagar district.

Under the MoU, ITC would procure organic wheat from the district at a premium of 30 per cent, he said.

Meanwhile, the government has also decided to conduct soil tests in the state. A provision of Rs 10 crore is being made for the soil-testing project with the government taking the help of scientists of reputed national institutions for this purpose, Rawat said.

After conducting the soil-tests, the government would prepare a health card through which it would selectively decide which is useful for a particular crop.

The tests will be conducted every 200 meters in the state. "The soil testing will help increase our agri-production," Rawat said.