Haryana CM seeks funds from Centre for natural farming, water security

Saini, who attended the two-day conference on ‘Financing India’s Journey Towards Viksit Bharat’ at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday, highlighted Haryana’s significant contribution to the country’s foodgrain reserves and self-reliance

Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday sought an “integrated natural farming and water security funding package” from the Union government, stating that the area under natural and organic farming in the state is expected to reach 50,000 acres during the current fiscal year.

Saini noted that the Centre has also emphasised strengthening the Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) ecosystem. (HT)

Saini, who attended the two-day conference on ‘Financing India’s Journey Towards Viksit Bharat’ at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday, highlighted Haryana’s significant contribution to the country’s foodgrain reserves and self-reliance.

“Keeping Haryana’s circumstances and initiatives in view, the central government has been requested to provide an ‘Integrated Natural Farming and Water Security Funding Package’ for the state,” Saini said, adding that the state showcased key agricultural and horticultural initiatives during the event.

He said the proposed package is intended to include capital investments for groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting, and the expansion of micro-irrigation technologies. Furthermore, the CM requested a special centrally sponsored integrated financial package by coordinating resources available under various central schemes.

Addressing the media after the conference, Saini said the deliberations also focused on strengthening the agriculture and energy sectors. He said the area under natural and organic farming is targeted to expand to 1.5 lakh acres by 2030–31. Additionally, a 2,000-acre natural farming model cluster is being developed in Kurukshetra, and the government has also decided to develop the Morni block to become a model for natural vegetable cultivation.

Portal benefits addressed

Stating that Haryana has benefited from the ‘Meri Fasal-Mera Byora’ portal, Saini said that fertiliser purchases have been linked to the platform, aligning supply with actual demand and resulting in savings of approximately ₹900 crore in fertiliser subsidies for the central government.

He said that the Centre has also emphasised strengthening the Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) ecosystem, a direction in which Haryana recently launched its dedicated FPO mission.

Saini said that the issue of waterlogging in Haryana was also raised at the conference as nearly 6 lakh acre land in the State is affected by the problem of waterlogging due to the rising water table, and suggestions in this regard were presented during the conference. He said that solar and green energy were also discussed at the conference.