UP okays food processing projects of Rs 200 crore

To link the agricultural sector directly with the market, the Uttar Pradesh government has cleared 14 food processing projects totalling more than Rs 200 crore.

The approved private projects encompass an array of farm segments including vegetables, horticulture, dairy, poultry etc.

These projects will be developed in major industrial and commercial hubs of Varanasi, Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bareilly, Ayodhya, Rampur etc.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said food processing holds immense potential for augmenting the farm income and generating large-scale employment opportunities.

He has directed officials to create awareness about the subsidies being provided under the Uttar Pradesh Food Processing Industry Policy 2023 so that more enterprises could be established.

The Yogi Adityanath is dexterously promoting food processing so that farmers receive better prices due to an enriched agricultural value chain.

The state has received food processing proposals pertaining to namkeen and sweets production; frozen vegetable processing; culinary herbs; milk powder, desi ghee, paneer, and whey powder production; spice units; ready-to-cook products (pre-mix dalia and khichdi); poultry feed units etc.

The approved processing units will procure raw materials from local farmers and livestock producers.

The investors are also mandated to submit a list of 100 farmers or dairy producers from whom raw materials will be purchased to qualify for the incentives.

The Yogi government envisions establishing 75,000 new food processing units in Uttar Pradesh, which currently has a network of roughly 65,000 food processing units across 75 districts.

With rising global demand, countries such as the US, Bangladesh, the UAE and Vietnam are increasingly importing Indian processed food items.

UP's agri economy has leaped three-folds in the last eight years. Compared to UP agricultural sector’s Gross State Value Added (GSVA) of Rs 2 trillion in the financial year 2016-17, the corresponding GSVA jumped to Rs 7 trillion in 2024-25.

The Yogi government is targetting to propel the UP agriculture and allied activities to contribute $1 trillion to the state's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) by 2047.

UP to develop Singapore, Japan investment zones

Uttar Pradesh will develop exclusive investment zones in Greater Noida for big Singapore and Japan companies.

The state government is planning to acquire almost 1,000 acres of industrial land for big ticket investors from the two developed Asian economies.

The land acquisition would be done by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) near the upcoming Noida International Airport (NIA).

YEIDA has proposed to develop two dedicated investment enclaves titled 'Singapore City' and 'Japan City' across 500 acres each in Gautam Buddha Nagar district.

Each enclave will cater to investors from their respective countries in an array of industries and domains.

Earlier, YEIDA sent a formal proposal to the Uttar Pradesh government for the development of the two exlusive cities.

Last month, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led a high-level delegation to these Asian economic giants on a four-day official tour.

He spent two days each in Singapore and Japan, holding investor roadshows and confabulating with leading investors and industrial groups.

His tour fetched investment proposals to the tune of Rs 2.5 trillion from Singapore and Japan.

Moreover, Memorandum of understanding (MoUs) totalling Rs 1.5 trillion were also signed in the two countries, which is expected to boost UP's target to become India's first $1 trillion economy by 2030.

Key investment sectors spanned agricultural machinery, automobiles, semiconductors, data centers, green hydrogen, power-to-gas, compressed biogas, ESDM, logistics and warehousing.

In Japan, UP signed MoUs with Kubota Corporation, Spark Minda (in collaboration with Toyo Denso), Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Nagase & Co etc.

The UP government held meetings with Suzuki Motor Corporation, Honda, Konoike Transport Co, Mitsui & Co, Rapidus Corporation, Marubeni Corporation, Sumitomo Realty & Development Co, MUFG Bank etc.

To promote green energy, a Green Hydrogen Centre of Excellence (CoE) will be set up in UP in collaboration with the University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi Hydrogen Company, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Harcourt Butler Technical University (HBTU) and IIT BHU.

The 'Japan Desk' at 'Invest UP' will be strengthened, with direct monitoring by the UP Chief Minister’s Office.

Japan will support technology transfer, skill development, joint ventures and supply-chain integration in UP’s MSME sector.

By linking the globally significant Buddhist Circuit and Ramayana Circuit in UP, the spiritual, cultural and heritage tourism will be promoted.

Meanwhile, Yogi's Singapore visit resulted in pacts for cooperation in MRO, cargo hubs, semiconductors, data centers, logistics, skilling and fintech.

UP targets pulses crop area of 3 million hectares

Pursuing a farm strategy to augment production of cash crops, the Uttar Pradesh government is targetting to increase the pulses crop area by 20 percent to more than 3 million tonnes (MT).

Against the pulses’ acreage of 2.56 MT in 2024-25, the state is looking at an acreage of almost 3.1 MT in 2025-26.

The average productivity of pulses in Uttar Pradesh is more than 12 quintals (100 kg) per hectare, which is significantly higher than the national average of 9.26 quintals per hectare.

Uttar Pradesh is among the top pulses producers in India. It ranked 4th in 2024–25 with a production of 3.08 million tonnes (MT), which is roughly 12 percent of the country's aggregate pulses production of 25.68 MT.

India is among the world's largest producers and consumers of pulses, yet it imports 15 to 20 percent of its annual demand to overcome production shortfall.

In the financial year 2024-25, imports jumped to over 7 MT, primarily from Canada, Russia, Australia, Myanmar, Africa etc.

Meanwhile, the Yogi Adityanath government has accorded emphasis to the distribution of high-quality seeds under the Pulses Self-Reliance Mission.

In 2025–26, more than 105,000 quintals of certified seeds were distributed under different schemes.

Under the free seed minikit scheme, about 30,000 quintals of quality seeds were distributed in UP, which benefitted almost 300,000 farmers.

During the Rabi season of 2025-26, a special programme is being implemented to cultivate lentils over 40,000 hectares; and urad and moong over 1,00,000 hectares during the Zaid season.

India also imports more than 50 percent of its edible oil consumption.

As such, agri experts have suggested increasing the domestic production and productivity of oilseeds and pulses for self-reliance.

UP produces roughly 21 percent of the total food grains; 10.8 percent fruits; and 15.4 percent of the vegetables in India. The agricultural sector contributes over 25 percent to the Uttar Pradesh Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).