Farmers to remain at the core of Haryana'€™s budget 2026-27: CM

Chandigarh, Jan 15 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday said the government is framing policies with farmers' needs and challenges at the core, and agriculture will continue to receive the highest priority in the budget.

He underlined that agriculture plays a vital role in sustaining the country's economy.

The real India lives in villages, and Haryana's identity is deeply rooted in hardworking farmers and a strong rural economy. Therefore, agriculture and allied sectors will receive special focus in the forthcoming budget, he said.

With the objective of accelerating holistic agricultural growth in Haryana, enhancing farmers' incomes and strengthening agriculture and allied sectors, a pre-budget consultation meeting was held on Thursday at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar.

The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister, brought together agricultural scientists, progressive farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and stakeholders from animal husbandry, horticulture, fisheries and the rural economy to seek inputs for the State Budget 2026-27, an official statement said.

Saini said this consultation was emotionally significant for him, as he is the son of a farmer and understands the hardships of farming firsthand.

Recalling the previous pre-budget consultation on January 9, 2025, the chief minister said 161 suggestions were received from farmers and experts, of which 99 key suggestions were incorporated into the Budget 2025-“26. Based on these inputs, the government took several historic and practical decisions for the agriculture sector, he said.

Saini highlighted that strict legislation has been enacted to prevent the sale of spurious seeds. A special agriculture and horticulture action plan was prepared for Haryana's Morni region, initiatives promoting natural farming were further strengthened, and financial assistance under the Mera Pani “Meri Virasat scheme was enhanced to promote water conservation and crop diversification, he said.

He said that, in line with farmers' suggestions, the government has undertaken modernisation of all mandis, implemented a gate-pass system for all crops, established seed testing laboratories in every district, set up new Centres of Excellence and expanded the horticulture mission across the state.

In addition, measures such as expansion of the livestock insurance scheme, adoption of solar technology to reduce the cost of white shrimp farming, implementation of the Milk Producer Incentive Scheme, establishment of milk collection centres, Har-Hith stores, and new Vita booths have been effectively rolled out, significantly contributing to increased farm incomes and a stronger rural economy, he said.

Calling upon agricultural scientists, Saini stressed the urgent need to promote the use of modern technologies in farming.

He urged researchers to focus on innovations that reduce input costs while increasing farmers' profitability, enabling them to keep pace with changing times.

He further said that today's youth aspire to practice agriculture using modern technology, and therefore agricultural research must be aligned with their expectations.

The Chief Minister said a budgetary allocation of Rs 9,296.68 crore was made for agriculture and allied departments in 2025-26.

He said the true success of government policy lies in ensuring that benefits reach farmers directly.

Referring to the suggestions received this year about the upcoming budget, Saini assured stakeholders that all inputs would be examined seriously.

He made it clear that there will be no compromise or shortfall in budgetary support for agricultural development. PTI SUN TRB TRB