Farmers Movement Archive

Uttar Pradesh to link new Farmer Producer Organisations to govt departments

LUCKNOW: Even as farmers, protesting against the new farm laws, held a mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar on Sunday, the ruling BJP has hammered out a plan to expedite formation of new Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and getting them linked to various government departments under convergence mode. The step is being seen as an attempt to help the FPOs get direct benefits from the various government schemes. While UP at present has a little over 600 FPOs, the state government plans to set up another 200 more in the forthcoming months, top sources in the state government said. Additional chief secretary (agriculture) Devesh Chaturvedi said that scores of FPOs have already been engaged in various agro-marketing and other farm-related activities. “The department seeks to lend a further boost to the sector that would help the farming community as a whole,” he told TOI on Sunday. According to agriculture department officials, as many as 107 FPOs have been engaged in organic farming in 28 villages which have been taken up under the Namami Gange programme. Likewise, 300 FPOs have been working as farm machinery banks, 60 are engaged in seed processing and many have been roped into the conservation of cattle. Chaturvedi said that an FPO in Agra has, in fact, started its own mandi, for procuring farm produce directly from the farmers. The move to step up setting up of more FPOs is seen as an attempt to boost farmers’ income and rev up the agriculture sector amid the ongoing standoff between the farmers and the Centre. It was only in September last year when the UP government formulated the state FPO policy. Later, the agriculture department directed all the district authorities to set up FPOs in developmental blocks which do not have one. “A majority of FPOs have been lying defunct despite their formation a few years ago. We have only revived them and lent them the requisite support,” Chaturvedi said. The UP government's accentuation on the FPOs comes even as the ruling BJP attempts to assuage the resenting farmers who have also been seeking government attention towards sugarcane state advisory price (SAP) for sugar cane which has remained unchanged for the past three years. As a matter of fact, CM Yogi Adityanath has announced that the state government would effect a hike in SAP, a move that becomes imperative in the election year, sources said that the state government may seek to tread cautiously in a bid to avoid burdening of the sugar mills which are already facing a financial contraction in the wake of Corona pandemic. ------- BOX Need to understand farmers' pain: Varun While the Centre has been vehemently against revoking the new farm laws, BJP MP from Pilibhit Varun Gandhi on Sunday lent covert support to farmers who had called a mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar. Lodging an appeal to understand the pain of farmers, Varun tweeted: “Lakhs of farmers have gathered in protest today, in Muzaffarnagar. They are our own flesh and blood. We need to start re-engaging with them in a respectful manner: understand their pain, their point of view and work with them in reaching common ground." Varun has also tweeted a video, which seems to be of Kisan mahapanchayat.”

The Times of India

2021-09-06

Lucknow