Agri sops for Naxal-hit villages

With an aim to promote agriculture and counter the growing influence of Maoists among the people in the Naxal-hit villages of Uttar Pradesh.

With an aim to promote agriculture and counter the growing influence of Maoists among the people in the Naxal-hit villages of Uttar Pradesh,the state agriculture department will join hands with banks and agriculture equipment companies to offer loans,kisan credit cards and seeds to the people at a very low price.

The department has identified 107 villages of Mirzapur district where it will implement the scheme in the first phase. Besides subsidies,the department will also provide training to the farmers about using latest and innovative technologies.

Though the quality of the soil is not poor in the district,yet agriculture has taken a backseat as people find it difficult to purchase seeds or equipment, said Shrikant Shukla,District Agriculture Officer (Mirzapur).

Shukla said the Planning Commission had recently asked the government departments to submit proposals about new schemes which could be launched in the Naxal-affected districts to counter the influence of ultras.

The nationalised banks have agreed to launch mobile vans and will set up camps to offer agriculture loans and kisan credit cards to the farmers at the lowest interest rates. There are not even 500 farmers who have kisan credit cards in the district. We have also approached companies like ITC to open rural showrooms where farming equipment and seeds will be made available to the farmers under one roof, added Shukla.

The department will also initiate soil reclamation projects in the district which will be conducted by a team of experts. Soil sample survey is already underway in the villages. As per the agreement,the Centre and the state will equally share the burden of executing the scheme.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
agriculture