Rural prosperity is not possible without making agriculture profitable: Saini
Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh —
Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini, while addressing the State Level Credit Seminar organized by NABARD, said that Haryana has played a significant role in the country’s food security. However, with changing times, agriculture and the rural economy are facing several new challenges, including declining groundwater levels, deterioration of soil health, shrinking landholdings, climate change and rising cost of production. He emphasized that these challenges cannot be addressed through conventional methods alone, but require innovation, technology and strong institutional financial support.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister also released the NABARD State Focus Paper for the year 2026-27, in which Haryana’s priority sector credit potential has been assessed at over ₹3.67 lakh crore, reflecting an increase of about 17 percent compared to the previous year. During the event, the Chief Minister also felicitated several committees for their commendable performance.
The Chief Minister said that rural prosperity is not possible without making agriculture profitable. Therefore, there is a need to implement the principles of “more production with less land” and “Per Drop – More Crop” in practice. He further said that just like credit facilities, infrastructure is equally crucial for rural development. Irrigation, storage, warehousing, rural roads, electricity and digital connectivity form the foundation of development.
He informed that special focus will be given to Smart Agriculture Zones in the upcoming budget, and separate clusters are being developed for this purpose. Clusters for kinnow, guava, strawberry, litchi and other horticulture crops are being created to encourage farmers to shift from traditional farming to modern agricultural practices. He also urged farmers to adopt sugarcane cultivation as part of crop diversification.
He said that the State Government is making concerted efforts to strengthen the linkage from “soil to machine and farm to market” so that farmers can get better market access for their produce as well as fair and remunerative prices.The Chief Minister urged banks to ensure that timely, simple and transparent credit facilities reach every eligible farmer so that our food providers can become self-reliant and free themselves from the clutches of middlemen. He said that NABARD is playing a significant role in this direction and is continuously supporting the development of agricultural and rural infrastructure.
The Chief Minister stated that MSMEs, Self-Help Groups, women entrepreneurship and cooperative institutions play a crucial role in strengthening the rural economy. He informed that 710 PACS are functioning in Haryana and cooperative banks have been computerized. He said that farmers have complete faith in PACS, but in recent times there have been concerns regarding their functioning. He emphasized that it is necessary to restore farmers’ trust in PACS as they play a vital role in rural development.
He said that Haryana is consistently taking several steps to realize PM Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sahkar se Samriddhi”. He added that through the “Meri Fasal Mera Byora” portal, information regarding farmers’ cultivation has been uploaded. The State Government ensured the availability of fertilizers as per farmers’ demand, curbed black marketing of fertilizers and saved approximately ₹700 crore in subsidies.
The Chief Minister said that all of us together have to fulfill the resolve of “Viksit Bharat – 2047”. Banks have a significant role in this mission. He urged all banks to provide easy credit facilities so that farmers can become self-reliant. He stated that the path to “Viksit Bharat” passes through “Viksit Haryana” and that through the collective efforts of NABARD, banks, the State Government and all stakeholders, Haryana will be developed in such a way that prosperity reaches the last person in queue.
On this occasion, NABARD Chief General Manager Nivedita Tiwari welcomed the Chief Minister and other dignitaries and presented NABARD’s report in detail. She informed that NABARD has assessed Haryana’s Priority Sector Lending potential for 2026-27 at ₹3.67 lakh crore, which is 17 percent higher than the previous year. Out of this, ₹1.32 lakh crore has been earmarked for the agriculture sector and ₹2.11 lakh crore for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector.
She stated that the State Government is working in coordination with banking and financial institutions to empower farmers, entrepreneurs and the rural economy so as to achieve the goal of “Viksit Haryana – Viksit Bharat”. She added that NABARD is laying special emphasis on women empowerment.
She further informed that under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), NABARD has so far sanctioned ₹18,393 crore for rural infrastructure development in Haryana, out of which ₹14,066 crore has been released. These funds are being utilized in sectors such as roads, irrigation, renewable energy, grain storage, drinking water, sanitation and electricity.
She said that the State Focus Paper 2026-27 has prioritized areas such as crop diversification, water conservation, micro-irrigation, horticulture, value addition, climate-resilient agriculture, strengthening of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), promotion of rural MSMEs, renewable energy and social infrastructure in order to realize the vision of “Sahkar se Samriddhi”.