CM Nayab Singh Saini Directs Agencies to Ensure Smooth Rabi Crop Procurement in Haryana

Chandigarh, March 24 – Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has directed all procurement agencies to complete preparations for Rabi crop procurement to ensure farmers face no difficulties in selling their produce. With wheat production expected to be high this year, he stressed the need for well-organized arrangements in grain markets.

Chairing a review meeting at Haryana Niwas in Chandigarh, Saini instructed marketing board officials to construct large sheds in vacant areas of mandis to store weighed wheat properly. He also ordered that there should be no shortage of gunny bags and that commission agents provide seating arrangements for farmers.

This season, agencies have set a wheat procurement target of 7.5 million metric tons. Mustard procurement began on March 15, masoor on March 20, and wheat, barley, and gram will start from April 1, while sunflower procurement will begin on June 1. The minimum support prices (MSP) for major crops have been set, with wheat at ₹2,425 per quintal, barley at ₹1,980, gram at ₹5,650, masoor at ₹6,700, mustard at ₹5,950, and sunflower at ₹7,280. Haryana remains the first state in India to offer 100% MSP coverage for all crops.

A cash credit limit of ₹6,653.44 crore has already been approved by the Finance Department and RBI for procurement operations. CM Saini emphasized that farmers should receive payments within 48-72 hours of their crops being lifted from mandis.

To ensure smooth procurement, 415 mandis will handle wheat, 25 for barley, 11 for gram, 7 for masoor, 116 for mustard, and 17 for sunflower. 108 mandis are linked to the e-NAM platform, and a toll-free Kisan Call Center will be set up to address farmers’ concerns. Additionally, 53 Atal Kisan Mazdoor Canteens will continue to provide affordable meals for farmers and laborers. District commissioners have been instructed to form monitoring teams for the entire procurement season.

Key officials present at the meeting included Additional Chief Secretary (Agriculture) Raja Sekhar Vundru, Principal Secretary to CM Arun Gupta, Special Secretary (Finance) Amneet P. Kumar, Additional Principal Secretary to CM Dr. Saket Kumar, MD HVPNL Ashima Barar, Director of Agriculture Rajnarayan Kaushik, and Director of Food & Supplies Rajesh Jogpal.