Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has reiterated the state government’s commitment to purchasing farmers’ produce at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), saying Haryana has become the first state in the country to guarantee MSP-based procurement for all crops. The initiative, he said, is intended to encourage crop diversification and reduce farmers’ dependence on water-intensive crops such as paddy.
The Chief Minister said the government was simultaneously promoting natural farming as part of its efforts to make agriculture more sustainable. Special attention is being given to reducing the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides while creating reliable market arrangements for farmers adopting environment-friendly cultivation practices.
As part of this initiative, an agreement has been reached with farmers in the Morni block to facilitate the purchase of naturally grown agricultural produce directly from their farms. The arrangement is intended to provide farmers with an assured marketing channel and encourage more cultivators to shift towards natural farming.
Saini said interest in natural farming was gradually gaining momentum across Haryana. According to the figures shared by him, more than four million farmers have registered around 1.5 lakh hectares of land for natural farming on the government portal. At present, natural farming is being practised on approximately 45,000 hectares.
To expand the area under such cultivation, the government is working on a plan to make Panchayat-owned land and land belonging to the Agriculture Department available to farmers on a 10-year lease. The proposed arrangement is expected to provide access to land for cultivators interested in adopting natural farming, particularly those who may not have sufficient agricultural holdings of their own.
The Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation (HAFED) has also been assigned the responsibility of procuring naturally grown agricultural produce in mandis. The Chief Minister said that produce would undergo laboratory testing before procurement, with the objective of verifying its quality and ensuring that the benefits of the scheme reach genuine natural-farming practitioners.
Price protection for horticulture farmers
Alongside initiatives in traditional agriculture and natural farming, the state government has introduced a price difference compensation scheme for horticultural growers. The scheme is aimed at protecting farmers against market-price fluctuations by providing financial support when the prices they receive fall below the prescribed levels.
The Chief Minister said the broader strategy was to strengthen farmers’ income security while encouraging a gradual shift towards diversified and sustainable agricultural practices. Assured procurement, access to land, institutional marketing support and price protection are among the measures being pursued to address both production-related challenges and uncertainties in the agricultural market.
The government’s emphasis on natural farming and crop diversification also reflects the need to conserve water resources and reduce excessive dependence on crops that require high levels of irrigation.
