UP promoting guar farming to increase agri income

To maximise farm income and insulate farmers from seasonal losses, Uttar Pradesh government is promoting guar farming, especially in the arid region of Bundelkhand. Guar provides better returns to farmers compared to other cash crops, including paddy and wheat.

"We are encouraging state farmers for guar cultivation. Last year also, guar was sown extensively around June, but torrential rains caused extensive damage to the crop," state agriculture minister Anand Singh told Business Standard in an exclusive interview.

The farmers are being encouraged to sow guar after harvesting sugarcane crop.

"Guar is a profitable proposition for farmers. We are confident that the farmers would take up guar cultivation on large scale after they are convinced of its handsome returns," he added.

This season, India's guar output is projected to rise 50 per cent owing to higher acreage and favourable climatic conditions. The output is estimated at 2.25 million tonnes (MT) compared to 1.5 MT last year.

"The government wants to make agriculture lucrative and increase farmers' income through a multi-pronged strategy. The farm income would rise when farmers produce more, get better returns and save money on farm inputs," he said.

"We are working on a plan to popularise 'custom hiring' of tractors and other farm implements, wherein small cultivators can avail of the benefits of farm mechanisation by hiring the implements," he informed.

Meanwhile, the government has also urged the Centre to increase subsidy on solar power implements from the current level of 75 per cent.

Singh expressed concern over paucity of storage facilities in UP, which resulted in wastage of farm produce. "We want to engage private sector in building up warehousing capacity."

UP is targeting agricultural growth rate of five per cent in the current 12th Plan (2012-2017).

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has pegged the state ground level credit potential at over Rs 1,00,000 crore for 2013-14.