Lucknow: With a total of Rs 17,174 crore allocated for agriculture and allied sectors, UP budget-2013 is all set to shower some bounty on Uttar Pradesh’s farm sector. Last year, when chief minister Akhilesh Yadav presented the state budget, he made provisions for farmer loan waivers worth Rs 500 crore. This year, agriculturists in the state are set to get a phenomenal boost with Akhilesh providing Rs 1,650 crore for loan waivers that will benefit about 8 lakh farmers. In what comes as even better news for the farm sector, the Samajwadi government has agreed to give away shortterm crop loans at even lower interest rates than they promised. Though the government had originally promised short-term crop loans of up to Rs 3 lakh at 4% interest, in his final budget presentation, Akhilesh has brought this figure down to 3%. With this, farmers will now be able to avail cheaper credit through primary cooperative agriculture credit societies. In an all out attempt to reach out to its rural voters, the state has also made provisions of Rs 200 crore for free irrigation and Rs 375 crore for the farmers accident insurance scheme. Taking a leaf out of last year’s budget, the government has made a provision of Rs 400 crore, like last time, towards the payment of cane prices to cane growers. As on date, sugarcane prices have increased, while the government’s outstanding on cooperative sugar mills is Rs 358 crore, which industry experts say is expected to touch Rs 550 crore. As a result, the current allocation will still not be enough to settle the pending cane dues, though this allocation is being seen as a step towards appeasing a sizeable number of sugarcane farmers in UP. This year’s budget has also attempted to pass off some existing schemes as new launches; last year, the government allocated Rs 47.83 crore for implementing what it referred to as the Bhumi Sena, a scheme to revive fallow land. This year, no scheme with this name has been spoken of. Instead, the budget sets aside Rs 176 crore for the third phase of waste land reclamation projects. Though last year’s budget laid heavy emphasis on financial proposals worth Rs 100 crore for pre-positioning 8 lakh tonnes of phosphatic fertilisers and 3 lakh tonnes of urea in the 2012-13 Rabi season and fertilisers worth Rs 137.82 crore for last year’s Kharif, the budget document remains silent on proposals in this regard. This year’s budget does, however, promise to expand floriculture and horticulture in the current fiscal, even though it remains silent on the exact allocation for the schemes. RICH HARVEST 400 crore for payment to cane growers 1,650 crore for farmer loan waiver scheme 200 crore for free irrigation 375 crore for farmers’ accident insurance scheme Short-term crop loan up to 3 lakh at 3% available to farmers 2,830 hecates of land to be brought under floriculture and 4,780 hectares for developing different varieties of spices 176 crore for third phase of waste land reclamation project—21,793 hectares identified for treatment of sodic land, while 2654 hectares for ravine reclamation project 7,061 crore for construction and maintenance of irrigation facilities 725 crore for flood control works, 200 crore for UP Water Restructuring Project and 200 for repair, renovation and restoration of water bodies in the Bundelkhand region 340 crore for schemes under minor irrigation