Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shyam Singh Rana said on Sunday that to facilitate the purchase of crops grown using natural farming methods, the state government has established a grain market in Gurugram.
A laboratory has also been set up in the market to test the quality of the produce. Once the quality is assessed, a committee will determine the price and purchase the crop accordingly.
The agriculture minister was addressing a gathering as the chief guest at the 7th Fruit Festival Mela, organized at the Subtropical Fruit Centre in Ladwa on Sunday.
He formally inaugurated the event by lighting the ceremonial lamp and planted a mango sapling on the centre’s premises. On the occasion, he felicitated 10 progressive farmers from the horticulture sector with ₹5,100 each, along with a trophy and a certificate of appreciation.
The minister inspected various stalls at the Mela and gathered information from experts on different mango varieties.
Rana said the state government’s goal is to promote natural farming on one lakh acres of land in Haryana. Currently, natural farming is being practiced on 10,000 acres, and this number is steadily increasing.
He informed the audience that the Subtropical Fruit Centre in Ladwa was established in 2016 under Indo-Israel collaboration. Starting with 10,000 saplings, the centre now prepares one lakh saplings annually for distribution to farmers.
Research is being conducted on six crops, including mango, litchi, pear, peach, and chikoo. Scientists at the centre are also working on developing a mango tree whose fruit could fetch around ₹1 lakh per kilogram in the market.
The minister further said that to increase farmers’ income and encourage a shift from traditional farming, 17 such centres will be established across the state, of which 11 have already been completed.
Sub-centres for litchi in Ambala and strawberries in Yamunanagar will be set up soon. He emphasised the need for farmers to diversify beyond wheat and paddy cultivation into horticulture, fisheries, beekeeping, dairy farming, and other allied sectors.
He noted that the state government consistently formulated new schemes for the benefit of farmers. If any issues arise during implementation, the schemes are revised to ensure maximum benefit to the farming community.
Calling farmers a crucial pillar of the nation, he encouraged them to adopt modern and diversified agricultural practices. Under the Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana, if farmers receive a price below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) in the market, the government compensates the difference to protect them from financial losses.
He concluded by stating that with new schemes aimed at boosting income across all sections of society, India is on track to become the third-largest global power by 2027 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.