Uttar Pradesh’s Agricultural Policy Sets A New Benchmark For Boosting Farmers’ Income And Strengthening The Rural Economy

Lucknow, December 3: The Uttar Pradesh government has developed a strong and integrated value chain, from seed to market, to enhance farmers’ income. Over the past eight and a half years, major decisions have been taken to ensure that farmers have seamless access from cultivation to market. As a result, a modern, farmer-centric model has taken shape in the state.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has placed special emphasis on ensuring that farmers keep pace with the digital era. Due to sustained government efforts, the state’s agricultural growth rate has risen from 8.6% in 2016–17 to 17.7% in 2024–25. Uttar Pradesh now ranks first in the country, producing 40 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables annually. The CM Yogi government is not only focused on crop cultivation, but is also consistently introducing new income-generating opportunities for farmers. Farmers are receiving free soil health cards through a mobile app, providing complete information about their land’s condition.

A major milestone has been the government’s regular revision of the Minimum Support Price (MSP). This year, the MSP for common paddy has been fixed at ₹2,369 per quintal and for Grade A paddy at ₹2,389 per quintal, an increase of ₹69 from last year. The price for early variety sugarcane has been raised to ₹400 per quintal, and for the normal variety to ₹390 per quintal. This has provided a significant boost to farm incomes.

The UP AGREES Project has been launched to help farmers increase productivity, adopt modern agricultural methods, and create new sources of agriculture-based employment in rural areas. Under the Chief Minister’s Krishi Samriddhi Yojana, farmers are being provided loans at affordable interest rates. The scope of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme has also been expanded, with a target of issuing 25 lakh new KCCs this year. Additionally, a 50% subsidy is being offered on tractors, harvesters, drones, and crop-residue management equipment.

The Uttar Pradesh government is providing farmers with free daily information on market prices and weather conditions. More than 1.45 crore Farmer Card IDs have been issued so far. Seedling production through women’s self-help groups is creating employment for nearly 60,000 women. A Seed Park is also being developed in Lucknow at a cost of ₹251 crore, in honor of Bharat Ratna and former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.

The establishment of over 4,000 active procurement centers across the state is a transformative achievement of the Yogi government. Notably, 35–40% of these centers were established in blocks where farmers had lacked permanent procurement facilities for decades. Now, with procurement centers located closer to villages, farmers benefit from reduced transportation costs, quicker sales, and protection from market price fluctuations.