UP CM Yogi Adityanath (PTI)
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said farming and farmers’ welfare became part of the government’s core agenda only after Narendra Modi came to power at the Centre in 2014. Speaking at an interaction with sugarcane farmers at his official residence, the chief minister said the recent decision to raise sugarcane prices for the 2025-26 crushing season reflected the government’s commitment to farmers’ prosperity. Farmers, elated over the hike, met CM Adityanath to express their gratitude. The UP government had on Wednesday announced a Rs 30 per quintal increase in sugarcane prices for the 2025-26 crushing season, terming it a major pro-farmer decision that will benefit lakhs of cultivators across the state. With the latest revision, the price of the early variety of sugarcane has been fixed at Rs 400 per quintal and the common variety at Rs 390 per quintal. The increase will result in an additional payment of around Rs 3,000 crore to farmers. CM Adityanath, according to an official statement, while addressing farmers said, “In 2014, when Modi ji’s government was formed, for the first time, farming and farmers’ interests were brought to the centre of governance. Earlier, no one cared about the health of the soil that grows our crops. Prime Minister Modi introduced the Soil Health Card scheme, and the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi freed farmers from the clutches of moneylenders. ” He said his government fulfilled the promise of waiving loans of 86 lakh farmers on the first day of assuming office in 2017. “In the last eight and a half years, an additional 23 lakh hectares of land have been brought under irrigation. Earlier, the farmers toiled, but middlemen reaped the profits. We changed this system, now the farmer is directly paid in his bank account,” he said. CM Adityanath said no state or country can progress by disrespecting its farmers. “Former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh used to say that the road to the nation’s prosperity passes through the farmers’ fields. But previous governments ignored the farmers, pushing Uttar Pradesh into the category of backward states,” he said. The CM alleged that previous regimes were driven by “a sick mentality” focused on their families’ welfare. “Between 2007 and 2017, sugar mills were shutting down or being sold. We stopped this trend,” he said. Comparing performances, the chief minister said during 2007-2017, sugarcane payments worth only Rs 1,47,346 crore were made, whereas since 2017, the payment has touched a record Rs 2,90,225 crore – Rs 1,42,879 crore higher than in the previous decade.