UP Govt Plans to Replace 17% of Rice Cultivation with Millets and Oilseeds in The Coming Years

Uttar Pradesh which happens to be the second largest producer of rice in the country has 60 lakh hectares of land across 70 districts under rice cultivation.

The state government is planning to reduce this to 50 lakh hectares while getting the area reallocated for millets and oilseeds, especially during the Kharif season planning that the move can mark a radical change in the cropping pattern.

Officials also said that the change would be brought through collaborative and extensive campaigns among the farmers. As per the sources, the state government is planning the promotion of the ‘exotic’ varieties of rice which could give higher returns.

As per the data, only seven districts have higher productivity of 2,500 kg/hectare namely Pilibhit, Bijnor, Varanasi, Chandauli, Ambedkarnagar, Kushinagar, and Baghpat. As many as 55 districts have medium or medium-low productivity of 2,000 to 2,500 kg/hectare and 1,500 to 2,000 kg/hectare respectively.

The production of rice has been registering a downward fluctuation in the wake of lesser rainfall. Last year, rice production came down nationally from 111 million metric tonnes in 2021 to around 105 million metric tonnes in 2022.

The state reported having received 42% lesser rains last year and recorded acreage under rice falling down by around 2.5 lakh hectares.

According to experts, the plan falls in line with the state government’s collaborated efforts for the promotion of millet which has been the focus of the Narendra Modi government at the center. Also, the year 2023 is being observed as the International year of Millets.

With 11 lakh hectares of land under millets, UP also tends to be the second-largest producer of coarse grains. As per the sources, the government is also planning to organize cluster demonstrations and area expansion through the distribution of common seed and free seed mini kits.

As per the expert’s opinion, millets are the most suited for water deficit and drought conditions and consume at least 70% less water as compared to the other crops and require minimum inputs and almost no pesticides. A senior official also said that for farmers, millets are low-risk crops resilient to climate change.

Sources also said that the government will also expand the area under oilseeds from the present 22 hectares to around 27 lakh hectares to meet the goal of producing 100 lakh tonnes of oilseeds by 2030-31. And, for this, productivity will also have to be increased from 11 to 12.5 quintals per hectare.