Chandigarh (Balwinder Singh): Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini chaired a high-level review meeting at the Haryana Civil Secretariat on Friday to evaluate the Agriculture Department’s upcoming five-year roadmap and action plan. Aligned with the state’s Vision 2047 initiative, the comprehensive strategy focuses on integrating modern technologies, reducing input costs, and establishing better market linkages to substantially increase farmers’ income. The Chief Minister directed officials to implement budgetary promises and policy announcements within the stipulated timeframes to ensure direct benefits reach local farmers.
The state government has set a target to reclaim 1.40 lakh acres of waterlogged and salinity-affected land during the current year. Saini instructed the department to develop a scientific framework and utilize satellite monitoring to prevent waterlogging issues in the future. Additionally, under the Soil Health Card scheme, the state aims to issue 1.5 million cards. Out of the initial phase target of 375,000 soil samples, 50,620 have already been collected, with the remaining to be processed by the end of July. The Chief Minister suggested involving school and college students, alongside rural youth, as volunteers in this campaign to raise agricultural awareness.
The strategy also addresses balanced fertilizer use and the promotion of sustainable farming. Officials reported that dedicated spaces for selling natural and organic produce are being created across 10 districts, including specialized markets in Hisar and Gurugram. To support this, Saini ordered the implementation of separate registers at state grain markets for organic produce, with HAFED assisting in marketing and procurement. The meeting also highlighted the expansion of Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) techniques, crop diversification through the ‘Mera Pani-Meri Virasat’ scheme, and drip irrigation adoption. To eliminate stubble burning, the state will supply advanced machinery like reapers, particularly to districts bordering Punjab, and will host a specialized agricultural fair in Hisar this August to exhibit modern cotton harvesting machines.
