Lucknow, Sep 6 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane Development Department is going to set up drip irrigation plants in 30,000 hectares of sugarcane cultivation area to save water and help farmers.

This will be done using subsurface drip irrigation technology to save water for the farmers and increase the yield.

With the help of this technology, farmers will be able to reduce the amount of water required for irrigation in sugarcane cultivation, which will help more than 2,500 farmers across the state.

An official statement said, "Drip irrigation technology is one such endeavour of the Sugarcane Development Department which, in the long run, will make farmers prosperous with the technology of saving water."

According to the sugarcane department, as many as 2,566 farmers of the state have been selected for the drip irrigation scheme who will benefit from it. Through drip irrigation, 50 to 60 per cent of water will be saved in the use of irrigation water.

Sanjay Bhoosreddy, Additional Chief Secretary, Sugarcane Department, said, "This technology will significantly reduce the exploitation of groundwater. In the crushing season 2021-22, it is planned to set up drip irrigation plants in 30,000 hectares of sugarcane area. After this, the scope of the scheme will be expanded."

He further said, "Better management of water resources will increase the income of the farmers. The government plans to implement this scheme on a large-scale. The idea behind it is to link the farmers with technology so that their yield and in turn their income will increase."