Alternatives for accelerating agricultural growth in Uttar Pradesh -a zone-wise analysis

Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of various crops still its agriculture sector continues to grapple with slow growth. The present study assesses various alternatives available in different zones of Uttar Pradesh for accelerating agricultural growth. Secondary data were collected from different sources and analyzed using simple tabular and percentage analysis. It is evident from the analysis that reduction of yield gap, increased coverage of horticultural crops, introduction of shorter duration varieties of sugarcane, strengthened procurement system, investment in irrigation and revamped extension services are required in order to boost the agricultural growth in Uttar Pradesh. There is also a need to increase resource use efficiency in the state. Reduction in the irrigation charges by replacing diesel operated pump sets can prove particularly helpful in this regard. Eastern region specifically needs to move out of the cerealbased system to obtain higher growth. Awareness regarding crop insurance and other risk minimization strategies is must for the Bundelkhand zone which falls in “low yield, high risk” category.