After organising the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Global Investors Summit (GIS) that fetched investment proposals of Rs 35 trillion, the state is now pitching for an international farm summit, to be held in December.
The proposed conclave titled Krishi Kumbh will cover all aspects of agriculture and allied sectors — including modern farm value chain, food processing industry, agricultural research, and best farming practices.
The Conclave will brainstorm mitigating the impact of climate change on agriculture, espousing cow-based natural farming, and promoting coarse food grains or millets.
In fact, the state is looking to increase millet acreage to 2.5 million hectares, launch exclusive millet outlets, and engage women entrepreneurs and self-help groups (SHG) in its value chain.
Encompassing topics such as agriculture, horticulture, dairy, pisciculture, beekeeping, food processing, animal husbandry, and farm implements, the Summit will catalyse the agenda of doubling the income through diversification, adopting modern farming techniques, post-harvest management, and food processing.
The state is planning to rope in developed and developing economies like Japan, USA, South Korea, Israel, Poland, Germany, Indonesia, and Philippines as partners, in the format similar to the GIS.Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to coordinate with embassies and high commissions of these countries for Krishi Kumbh 2.0.
The state had organised the first edition of Krishi Kumbh in October 2018, in Lucknow. Krishi Kumbh 2.0 is likely to be held in the second week of December.
“While Krishi Kumbh 2.0 will focus on augmenting agricultural yield and farm income, the conclave should also discuss hiking the contribution of agriculture and allied sectors to make UP a $-trillion economy,” the CM observed in a review meeting.
UP is among the top agricultural producers in India, accounting for 35 and 12 per cent of wheat and paddy respectively. The state has an estimated 17 million hectares of agricultural cultivated area, which is among the largest cropped acreage in India.
Now, UP is looking to boost the output of millets and oilseeds by increasing area under cultivation and replacing 10-15 per cent of paddy acreage with millet and oilseed crops.
Earlier, apex farm sector refinancer National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development had estimated rural credit potential at Rs 3.75 trillion in UP for financial year 2023-24.
