 "Govt plan to set up 10,000 groups to promote farm produce needs pruning")
Giving a shot in the arm to Uttar Pradesh’s efforts to shore up rural income, the farm exports from the landlocked state increased to almost Rs. 19,000 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23.
The state’s farm export value jumped 5.5 per cent from nearly Rs. 18,000 crore in 2021-22 to Rs. 19,000 crore in 2022-23. The farm exports comprised agricultural and horticultural crops, such as fruits, vegetables, food grains, oilseeds, etc. especially those promoted by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).
Toeing the line of the Centre, the UP government is targeting to double the farm income by taking a multipronged approach of increasing productivity, yield and acreage, apart from providing a profitable marketing value chain.
Meanwhile, UP Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra has tasked officials with drafting an action plan to further boost agricultural exports through a consultative mechanism. “UP has a large potential of farm exports, which need a focussed approach to maximise the benefits,” he said, while ordering for promoting districts that lead the farm exports tally.
UP produces nearly 21 per cent of the total food grains, 10.8 per cent fruits and 15.4 per cent of the vegetables in India. The agricultural sector contributes more than 25 per cent to the UP Gross State Domestic product (GSDP).
Meanwhile, the state has received proposals to set up five agricultural clusters of basmati rice and mango in four districts — Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Shamli, and Sitapur.
The Yogi government is looking to develop an integrated agricultural value chain comprising pack houses, cold storages, ripening chambers, food processing, etc. in these places.
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Besides, the government is striving to get the geographical indication registration for 20 farm products of the state.
The principal crops grown in UP include wheat, maize, paddy, potato, sugarcane, pulses, oilseeds apart from a range of fruit and vegetable crops.
In UP, the total cultivated area is pegged at 17.7 million hectares (mh), of which the irrigated area is roughly 87 per cent. The state tops in the production of food grains, sugarcane, potato, milk, meat as well as horticultural produce basket. Its share in the national agricultural exports is about 7.35 per cent.
In terms of the quantity exported, the state contributes nearly 50 per cent in buffalo meat, 38 per cent wheat, 27 per cent natural honey, 4.12 per cent fresh mangoes, 16 per cent in other fresh fruits, 13.31 per cent in dairy, 4 per cent in non-basmati rice, and 3.21 per cent in basmati rice.
