Lucknow,

31 March (HS): State

Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi held a press conference at the Media

Centre Lok Bhawan regarding the comprehensive strategy made for the

purchase of Rabi season crops and the progress of other schemes related to the

department. The Price Support Scheme is a significant state-run scheme of

the Government of India that aims to ensure farmers receive remunerative prices

for their produce. Under this scheme, the government purchases pulses and

oilseeds from farmers at a pre-determined minimum support price (MSP), which is

often higher than the market rate.

In the 2026-27 Rabi marketing year, chickpea, lentil, mustard, and pigeon pea

are to be procured at the minimum support price. The MSP for chickpea has been

set at Rs. 5,875/quintal, lentil at Rs. 7,000/quintal, mustard at Rs.

6,200/quintal, and pigeon pea at Rs. 8,000/quintal.

The procurement targets are: 2.24 lakh metric tonnes for gram (25% of total

production), 6.77 lakh metric tonnes for lentil (100% of total production),

5.30 lakh metric tonnes for mustard (25% of total production) and 1.14 lakh

metric tonnes for tur. The procurement of crops will be done over a period of

90 days from 02 April 2026 to 30 June 2026. 02 Central Agencies (NAFED and

NCCF) and 04 State Level Agencies (UPPCU, UPPCF, JAFED and UPSS) are nominated

for procurement under this scheme.

To ensure transparency and identification of genuine farmers, Aadhaar-enabled

POS machines have been installed at each procurement centre, enabling payments

to be made through DBT into Aadhaar-linked accounts.

In the last Rabi marketing year 2025-26, 141 procurement centers were opened by

state-level procurement agencies. This year, a total of 190 procurement centers

are proposed to be opened for direct procurement by NAFED and NCCF, and state-level

agencies will also open their own procurement centers.

In the last Rabi marketing year 2025-26, 4.85 metric tonnes of gram were

procured against the target of 95,250 metric tonnes, 34,271 metric tonnes of

lentils against the target of 1,56,000 metric tonnes, 264 metric tonnes of

mustard against the target of 5,12,113 metric tonnes and 17,435 metric tonnes

of tur against the target of 97,890 metric tonnes, benefiting a total of 20,385

farmers.

In the year 2025-26, 11.25 lakh quintals of seeds were provided to the farmers

at a subsidy of Rs 31,431 lakh. In the same year, 12.73 lakh seed minikits

(54,847 quintals) were distributed free of cost to farmers, with a total value

of Rs 3874 lakh. In Zaid 2026, 31,950 quintals of seeds were made available on

subsidy as compared to 7123 quintals in Zaid 2025. Of this, 13,500 quintals of

groundnut seeds were distributed free of cost. 16,601 quintals of urad and

moong seeds were given free to farmers for intercropping with spring sugarcane.

Additionally, 15,825 minikits (633 quintals) of urad and moong seeds were

distributed free of cost to farmers. In Rabi 2025-26, mustard was intercropped

with sugarcane in 1.77 lakh hectares, for which 5,600 quintals of mustard seeds

were distributed free of cost.

Seed Park:: Bharat Ratna Chaudhary Charan Singh Seed Park is being established

in the state on 130.63 acres of land in the Government Agricultural Farm,

Attari. A total of 23 plots ranging from 2 to 17 acres will be given to

entrepreneurs in this seed park. The minimum premium in the Seed Park is fixed

at Rs 3250 per square metre, and the plots will be allotted to the highest

bidder in the e-auction. The first installment of Rs 50.84 crore has been paid

to UPEIDA for the development of the seed park, and the work will start soon.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi