Chandigarh (Balwinder Singh): Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shyam Singh Rana announced that the state government has decided to advance the commercial procurement of sunflower crops by one week, officially commencing on May 25. Executed under the Price Support Scheme for the rabi marketing season 2026-27, the state-backed procurement was originally scheduled to begin on June 1. The administrative adjustment aims to provide immediate relief to local cultivators facing early harvests across various agrarian zones.
According to the agricultural ministry, sunflower growers had repeatedly petitioned the state administration to expedite the purchasing schedule to match the current maturation rate of the crops. By opening the grain markets ahead of schedule, the government intends to ensure a smooth, bottleneck-free influx of produce during the peak harvesting window. All participating procurement agencies have received strict directives to optimize market infrastructures, establish robust crop-lifting logistics, and ensure transparent, timely payment mechanisms directly to the farmers’ bank accounts.
To execute the statewide operation seamlessly, the administration has ordered multi-departmental coordination involving the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation, HAFED, NAFED, and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation. Senior administrative officials are directly supervising the market setups to guarantee that farmers do not encounter structural delays or procedural exploitation at the collection centres.
Highlighting the state’s comprehensive agricultural welfare model, Minister Shyam Singh Rana emphasized that Haryana remains the only state across the country that guarantees the procurement of all 24 major domestic crops at the federally mandated Minimum Support Price. He reiterated that under the leadership of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, the provincial government remains thoroughly committed to safeguarding the economic interests of the farming community and stabilizing rural market yields.
