Lucknow, April 8 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday that the state has significantly improved its agricultural growth rate over the past nine years, attributing it to sustained policy efforts and better resource utilization.
Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the sixth Uttar Pradesh Agricultural Science Congress-2026 in Lucknow, Adityanath said that the state's agricultural growth rate has increased from around eight per cent to 18 per cent during this period (in the past nine years).
Highlighting the state's importance in India's agrarian economy, he said that Uttar Pradesh accounts for 16-17 per cent of the country's population and possesses about 11 per cent of its cultivable land, contributing nearly 21 per cent to the nation's total foodgrain production.
"The state has some of the most fertile land and robust water resources, which, if utilized effectively, can yield significant results," he said.
The three-day Uttar Pradesh Agricultural Science Congress has been organized by the Uttar Pradesh Council of Agricultural Research (UPCAR) at the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research.
The theme of this year's congress is "Transforming Agriculture for Viksit Krishi–Viksit Bharat @2047".
State Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, Minister of State Baldev Singh Aulakh, UPCAR Chairman Captain (Retd) Vikas Gupta, among others, were present at the inaugural session.