State govt continuously working to make Haryana a hub of agricultural innovation
Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh –
Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Shyam Singh Rana said that the state government has set new benchmarks in the fields of horticulture, beekeeping and sustainable agriculture. Haryana has become the first state in the country to adopt a dedicated Beekeeping Policy, which has significantly boosted honey production in the state through its effective implementation.
The Agriculture Minister was chairing the pre-budget consultation meeting related to the Horticulture Department here today. During the meeting, detailed discussions were held on the expenditure of the budget allocated to the department in the previous financial year. He said that the state government is continuously working to increase farmers’ income and is formulating farmer-centric schemes to support them.
After the meeting, Rana said that an Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre has been established at Ramnagar with the objective of promoting beekeeping on scientific and commercial lines. Under this initiative, subsidies of up to 85 percent are being provided for the purchase of bee boxes. In addition, subsidies of up to 75 percent are available for honey processing, bottling and quality testing.
The Minister further said that Haryana is also leading the country in setting up 'Centres of Excellence' to demonstrate the latest technologies in the horticulture sector. During the present government’s tenure, nine Centres of Excellence have already been established, while work on three more centres is currently underway. These centres are providing farmers with high-quality planting material and information on modern farming techniques. Low-cost vertical farming is being promoted on a large scale in the state. During the current government’s tenure, vegetable production has been encouraged over an area of 18,630 acres using advanced technologies. Farmers adopting protected farming are being provided subsidy support assistance from 50 to 85 percent, he added.
Rana said that Haryana has also emerged as a leading state in adopting protected farming and advanced agricultural technologies. Through these methods, farmers’ crop yields have increased by two to three times, resulting in a significant rise in their income.Besides this, Haryana is the first state in the country to implement the Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana. At present, 21 fruits and vegetables are covered under this scheme.
He said that through these forward-looking and farmer-friendly policies, the Haryana government is continuously working towards increasing farmers’ income, making agriculture more profitable, and transforming the state into a centre of agricultural innovation.