Chandigarh, Sep 23 (IANS) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday said that technology “reduces a farmer’s input costs, lowers the need for manual labour and increases returns from crops and is the real innovation for farmers”.
“The true success of any technology should be reflected in the farmer’s account book,” he said, adding “technology is useful for farmers only when it is affordable, easy to use and can also be repaired locally in or around villages”.
The Chief Minister was addressing the closing session of the fifth ‘Innovative Farmers’ Meet’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Ladwa town in Kurukshetra. On the occasion, he inaugurated and visited an exhibition of agricultural machinery and interacted with progressive farmers.
He said the distinctive feature of the Innovative Farmers Meet was that discussions were not confined to big cities or conference halls, but were being taken directly to farmers. The Chief Minister said agriculture today “faces serious challenges such as weather uncertainties, increasing water scarcity and deteriorating soil health. Therefore, there is a need to move towards farming practices that can withstand changing conditions while increasing farmers’ income”.
He said paddy and wheat cultivation has particular significance in the region. Measures such as direct seeding of rice, crop-specific micro-irrigation and land levelling can prove useful. He urged farmers to get their soil tested and use fertilisers according to the requirements of their land.
Saini also emphasised maintaining soil fertility through crop diversification, organic matter and scientific advice. The Chief Minister said small farmers cannot afford to purchase every expensive machine individually. Therefore, farmer groups, cooperative societies and centres providing machinery on rent have an important role to play. The benefits of one machine should reach multiple farms.
He said youth in villages should be trained to operate and repair farm machinery and provide agriculture-related services. This would help reduce farmers’ costs while also creating new employment opportunities in villages.
The Chief Minister also called for greater focus on crop diversification. He said that wherever conditions are suitable, possibilities for cultivating pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits and other appropriate crops should be explored.
He urged industries to support farmers by providing training on quality and food safety standards and helping them connect with better markets. The Chief Minister said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, farmers’ welfare is a priority of the government. The government is committed to increasing farmers’ income, expanding irrigation facilities, promoting natural farming, encouraging crop diversification and integrating agriculture with technology.
He said around 2 lakh farmers have registered 3 lakh acres of land on the portal launched to promote natural farming. Of these, verification of 23,930 farmers for adopting natural farming on 44,000 acres has been completed. In 2025-26, natural farming was undertaken on 20,727 acres in the state.
The Chief Minister said under the PM-KUSUM scheme, farmers are provided a 75 per cent subsidy for installing solar pumps, and 1.95 lakh solar pumps have been installed so far. He said Rs 1,200 per acre has been provided for proper management and baling of paddy stubble. So far, Rs 907 crore has been provided as subsidy to 10 lakh farmers.
–IANS
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