LUCKNOW: Highlighting a massive increase in sugarcane cultivation in Purvanchal, the Sugarcane Department said that in the past four years, the area under cane cultivation went up by 1.34 lakh hectare.
Till 2017, said a government spokesperson, the area under sugarcane cultivation in Purvanchal was 4.39 lakh hectare which went up to 5.73 lakh hectare. Data released by the department shows that farmers’ income also went up by Rs 22,000 per hectare during this period, while the total income of farmers in Purvanchal increased by Rs 1,290 crore.
The spokesperson said that the increase in production was a result of ‘farmer-friendly schemes’ of the UP government. “The establishment of new sugar mills, reopening of closed ones and their operation during the novel coronavirus pandemic, timely payment of sugarcane dues to farmers and a campaign to connect farmers with technology have proved to be effective in this regard,” he said. He added that with an increase in the area under sugarcane cultivation and a corresponding increase in sugarcane yield, farmers’ income has also seen a rise. The average yield of sugarcane in Purvanchal has increased from 652.72 quintals per hectare to 722 quintals per hectare over the past four years.
“The Yogi Adityanath government has distributed 70 lakh quintals of seeds among farmers. Sowing on five lakh hectare has been done through the trench method. Co-cropping cultivation has been done over four lakh hectare, while drip irrigation plants were installed on 4,042 hectare. All these efforts of the government have contributed to increase in yield as well as in farmers’ income,” the spokesperson added.
The above news was originally posted on timesofindia.indiatimes.com
