Bareilly: In a bid to promote organic farming, the state government has selected 30 districts, including Pilibhit and Badaun from Bareilly division, where clusters of 50 acre of land will be developed for organic farming under a pilot project. UP agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi on Sunday said that for the next three years, the government would spend Rs 15 lakh on each cluster every year. Besides, there are plans to develop 100-hectare clusters in each of these districts for water conservation and integrated farming.On his first visit to Bareilly after becoming a minister, Shahi said that in the opening phase of loan waiver scheme, 12 lakh peasants’ agriculture loan to the tune of Rs 7,400 crore has been settled. “We have entered into the second phase of the scheme and by the last week of this month, around 20 lakh more farmers will be benefitted. Besides, we have cleared the outstanding dues worth Rs 8,000 crore of cane growers and the remaining amount will be cleared by September 30,” he said.The minister added that the government was working on several fronts simultaneously to bring about a change in the farmers’ financial condition.Shahi said that within three months of taking charge, 17 new agricultural labs have been added to the 30 existing ones. Besides, 20 new Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) are coming up and two such centres will be set up in Bareilly and Badaun.He said that since chili is cultivated on a large scale in Bareilly and Badaun, the crop would be covered under the PM crop insurance scheme. “Seeing the success of solar pumps for irrigation, the government has decided to set up 10,000 more pumps at a cost of Rs 200 crore. Farmers in Bareilly division will get 893 such pumps.”To ensure soil health, each and every field will have a soil card. So far, 11 lakh soil tests have been done and the target is 49 lakh, the minister said.

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