Absentee farmers a concern for Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW: When the government, both at the Centre and the state, have farmers at the core of their development policies, in Uttar Pradesh, 'absentee’ farmers have become a concern. Huge tract of land in the state remains uncultivated every year as land owners abstain from farming.
The agricultural directorate in its land use assessment report of five years from 2010-11 till 2014-15 has shown at least 11 lakh hectare land which went unsown every year, with marginal increase or decrease in the fallow land every year. The land use assessment is done based on land revenue records.
In 2010-11, about 12.1 lakh hectare was left unseeded; in 2011-12, it was about 11.7 lakh hectare. In 2012-13, the fallow land further increased to over 12 lakh hectare; in 2013-14 about 11.3 lakh hectare was not sown and about 11.2 lakh hectare was not ploughed in 2014-15.
The land which remained uncultivated for two consecutive sowing seasons was more than 5 lakh hectare. Government has not been able to motivate farmers, as a result, left uncultivated for about five years, at least 4 lakh hectare has become `agricultural waste’ which would now need reclamation before farming on it resumes.
Agricultural land not ploughed for more than two years becomes a waste and needs reclamation by adding nutrients and minerals before cultivation.
Sources in the directorate said the reasons have not been explored. But most likely ones could be migration to cities, buying land for investment purpose, fragmented or degraded holdings and emergence of nuclear families where there are not enough hands to do farming.
Economically, a hectare of land yields produce worth at least Rs 1 lakh in a year. It would produce at least 40 quintal of wheat and 45 quintal of paddy in a year. In UP, actual sown area is about 166 lakh hectare.