Chandigarh: With the aim of accelerating holistic agricultural growth and enhancing farmers’ incomes, a pre-budget consultation meeting was held at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. The meeting brought together agricultural scientists, progressive farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and stakeholders from allied sectors to gather inputs for the Haryana State Budget 2026–27. The Chief Minister said that farmers’ needs would remain at the core of policy-making and agriculture would continue to receive the highest priority in the budget.
Recalling the impact of earlier consultations, the Chief Minister said that out of 161 suggestions received before Budget 2025–26, 99 were incorporated, leading to several landmark decisions, including strict laws against spurious seeds, mandi modernisation, expansion of horticulture and livestock schemes, promotion of natural farming and enhanced support under the Mera Pani–Meri Virasat scheme. He emphasised that agriculture is the backbone of Haryana’s economy and assured that there would be no compromise in budgetary support for the sector.
Highlighting the importance of technology and research, CM Saini urged scientists to focus on innovations that reduce input costs and increase profitability. He informed that ₹9,296.68 crore was allocated for agriculture and allied sectors in 2025–26 and assured stakeholders that all suggestions received for the upcoming budget would be examined seriously. He also invited farmers to submit further inputs through the government chatbot and announced that contributors whose suggestions are included would be invited to witness the Budget 2026–27 presentation in the Vidhan Sabha.
Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Shyam Singh Rana, Public Works Minister, Ranbir Gangwa, MLAs Savitri Jindal and Randhir Panihar, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Dr Saket Kumar, Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Pankaj Agarwal, Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry Department, Vijay Dahiya, Director General, Agriculture, Rajnarayan Kaushik, Mayor, Parveen Popli, OSDs to Chief Minister, Dr Raj Nehru, Virender Badkhalsa, senior officers from various departments and progressive farmers also attended the meeting.
