In a significant push for agricultural modernization, Uttar Pradesh's Agriculture Minister, Surya Pratap Shahi, has made a fervent appeal to the state's farming community. He has called upon farmers to actively engage in the upcoming series of farmer training programs, popularly known as Kisan Pathshalas, scheduled for the Rabi season of 2025-26. The minister emphasized that adopting innovative practices is the key to maintaining soil health and achieving higher profits while reducing cultivation costs.
Blueprint for the Training Programme
The state agriculture department has rolled out a detailed plan for these grassroots training initiatives. Instructions have been formally issued to all deputy directors of agriculture to organize village-level seminars and training sessions throughout the upcoming Rabi season. This initiative will follow a convergence model of various schemes, similar to the approach successfully implemented in the 2024-25 season.
The training cascade will begin with master trainers providing core instruction via video conference. This central session is slated for December 8, from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Following this, district-level training programs will be conducted for two days, on December 9 and 10. To ensure quality, a trainers' evaluation program will also be held via video conference on December 11, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
Village-Level Engagement and Participant Selection
The core of the program will be the extensive village-level seminars, which are set to run from December 12 to December 29. Each session will be held daily from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Minister Shahi has directed officials to prioritize specific venues for hosting these events. Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Kisan Kalyan Kendras, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), and local primary schools have been identified as the preferred locations.
To ensure impactful and relevant discussions, the program will focus on localized crop selection. In each development block, the four major crops with the highest area coverage will be selected for detailed discussion during the training. Furthermore, the initiative aims to highlight and learn from local success stories.
Authorities will identify five progressive farmers or women agricultural workers from each block who have recorded the highest productivity in their respective crops over the last three years. From this group, two will be nominated to share their experiences and techniques through presentations during the village seminars, providing practical, peer-to-peer learning.
Aiming for Widespread Impact
The state government is targeting substantial participation to maximize the reach of this knowledge-sharing exercise. Each village-level seminar or Kisan Pathshala is expected to see the participation of 80 to 100 farmers. This large-scale outreach underscores the government's commitment to directly empowering the farming community with the latest agronomic knowledge and sustainable practices.
Minister Surya Pratap Shahi's call to action is clear: by embracing training and innovation, farmers can safeguard their most precious resource—the soil—and turn their agricultural ventures into more profitable and sustainable enterprises for the Rabi 2025-26 season and beyond.
