UP’s ‘Resilience Model’ has set an example for small farmers: World Bank President Banga

World Bank Group President Ajay Banga has praised the small-farmer agricultural model being developed in Uttar Pradesh, saying “it is not theory, but a ground reality”.

He said that the agricultural system in the state has been designed in such a way that resilience is inherent from the beginning and not an element that is added later.

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Banga was addressing an event on Thursday evening and praised the Yogi-led UP government, saying the experiments being conducted with farmers in the state to address the challenges of climate change are remarkable.

“Heat-tolerant seeds, soil-friendly fertilizers, regeneration techniques, efficient irrigation systems, and a robust insurance-financing system provide stability to farmers’ lives. The aim is to ensure that one bad season does not become a life-threatening crisis for a farmer,” he said.

The World Bank President further stated that digital technology is at the heart of this entire process. It is the glue that connects the entire system. A simple AI tool and a basic mobile phone can identify a farmer’s crop disease, provide fertilizer information, provide early weather warnings, and secure payments, Banga said, ading this data then becomes a farmer’s credit history. He described this as a “virtuous loop,” where data-driven trust leads to better underwriting, cheaper loans, and more investors join the ecosystem.

Banga said he visited Uttar Pradesh a few months ago and witnessed this model in action. “There, I saw how everything from foundations to cooperatives, farmers’ resilience, and above all, the digital system, all together created a vibrant ecosystem. This is proof of concept; this model works. Now it needs to be implemented on a larger scale, and it is completely scalable.”

He said that such a model can only succeed if the government, businesses, and development partners are aligned.

Recently, the World Bank and the Uttar Pradesh Government jointly launched the “UP Agri” project, which aims to strengthen the agricultural system in the state technically and financially. This project is expected to directly benefit approximately 1 million small and marginal farmers. The state government has also outlined a digital agriculture ecosystem, providing farmers with real-time access to information on weather, seeds, markets, and insurance.