The World Bank will fund a comprehensive agricultural development project in Uttar Pradesh aimed at increasing farm productivity and rural incomes.
The UP Agriculture Growth and Rural Enterprises Ecosystem Strengthening (UP AGREES) project will boost farm income, agricultural productivity and agri-based industries.
The project, to be rolled out in 21 eastern UP and seven Bundelkhand districts, will be structured into four key components viz. enhancing agricultural productivity, establishing agro clusters, strengthening digital and financial ecosystems, and focusing on project management.
In UP, about 16.57 million hectares (MH) of the total land mass of 24.32 MH is cultivable, which amounts to 76 percent.
According to the Yogi Adityanath government, while crop productivity has improved over the past seven years, it needs emphasis in the Bundelkhand, Purvanchal and Vindhya regions.
While, western UP contributes 50 percent to the state’s agricultural output, eastern UP accounts for just 28 percent, and Bundelkhand a mere 5.5 percent.
To address this disparity, the state has drafted a blueprint of the UP AGREES project, designed to boost agri productivity in the selected districts.
The World Bank funded project will benefit farmers, farmer organisations, fish farmers, and agri MSME units.
The six-year project will involve an investment of Rs 4,000 crore with the World Bank providing a loan of Rs 2,737 crore and the state contributing Rs 1,166 crore.
The loan repayment period is 35 years, with an interest rate of 1.23 percent and a seven-year moratorium.
The project targets 24 of the 50 districts most vulnerable to climate change, directly benefiting a million farmers, including 30 percent women.
Additionally, 10,000 women producer groups will be integrated into the project, and 500 farmers will be sent abroad to acquire advanced agri techniques.
The project will be launched in 21 districts of eastern UP namely Shravasti, Bahraich, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Maharajganj, Sant Kabir Nagar, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Azamgarh, Mau, Jaunpur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Varanasi, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, and Sant Ravidas Nagar.
In Bundelkhand, it will be implemented in Jalaun, Jhansi, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda, Lalitpur and Chitrakoot districts.