 "ICRIER plots UP road map to double farm growth")
As the new Uttar Pradesh (UP) government gets down to work, a paper by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) lays down a road map for the state to double its annual farm sector growth to over five per cent from the current 2.5 per cent.
On the ongoing controversy over closure of illegal slaughterhouses, the paper says UP should first invest in modernising the large number of state-owned slaughterhouses which continue to operate in unhygienic conditions.
"This will ensure that the environment does not get polluted or contaminated and the people can continue to have access to hygienic meat," it added. It also suggests measures to boost farm sector growth in state.
These include enhancing paddy procurement from eastern parts of the state, incentivising increased arrivals in mandis and ensuring timely payments to farmers, just like in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
On dairy farming, which can become a major sunshine sector, the paper says first there is a need to ensure milk producers in the state get a remunerative price, which could be done through more processing units to turn milk into value-added products and not through a minimum support price for milk.
"Although UP is the largest producer of milk in the country (17 per cent of India production), it processes less than 12 per cent of its milk production compared to almost half in Gujarat," the paper said.
It said UP must target increasing the processing of milk to at least 30 per cent in the next five years.
The paper also suggests raising milk productivity through pure Indian breeds as well as through cross-breeds.
On sugar cane, which is the biggest organised industrial sector in the state, the paper said the C Rangarajan formula on cane pricing should be adopted and any payment more than the formula should be built into the state's budget. "This will solve the problem of cane dues forever," the paper said.
It also favoured the creation of a price stabilisation fund for sugar cane, a flexible ethanol blending programme to deal with surplus sugar, and ceasing of any bailouts for cooperative sector.
"Existing sick cooperative sugar factories may be privatised through a transparent process of auctioning," the paper said. It also advised getting the rural infrastructure improved in the state through enhancing rural roads connectivity.
"Even now, nearly 43,029 habitations remain unconnected going by the UP plan document of 2016-17. UP's achievements under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme in terms of habitations connected and length of roads built have been well below the targets in most years with delays of 3 to 36 months in 367 of the works," the paper said.
For the drought-prone Bundelkhand region, the paper suggests improving micro-irrigation prospects and quick completion of delayed irrigation projects.
"If agriculture can be made to grow at five per cent per year, which it clearly has the potential for, the chief minister's dream of making UP Uttam Pradesh can easily come true," the paper said.
