Quality Wheat Seed and Fertiliser to be Made Available to Farmers on Time: Shyam Singh Rana

Chandigarh, August 20: Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Sh. Shyam Singh Rana directed officials to ensure timely availability of adequate quantities of quality wheat seed and fertilisers to farmers for the upcoming Rabi season. He also directed that physical verification of machinery provided to farmers on subsidy under the Crop Residue Management Scheme be completed promptly and the subsidy amount be transferred to farmers’ bank accounts at the earliest.

Sh. Rana was chairing a meeting with officials at his office here today to review the availability of seeds and fertilisers for crops.

Director, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Sh. Raj Narayan Kaushik; Additional Director and Director (Additional Charge), Haryana State Seed Certification Agency, Dr. Ram Pratap Sihag; Additional Director Dr. Pradeep Meel, along with other senior officers, were present in the meeting.

The Minister was informed that around 40.64 lakh quintals of raw wheat seed is available, while only about 17–18 lakh quintals of seed is required for sowing in the state. The processing and certification of the raw seed is currently underway and the seed will be ready by September. It was informed that sufficient quantities of seed are available for wheat sowing in October.

Sh. Rana directed officials to make adequate preparations to provide farmers with quality seed for gram and lentil crops as well, so that farmers can earn better returns from the sale of these pulses.

He also directed officials to maintain adequate stocks of urea, DAP and NPK fertilisers for the upcoming Rabi season, ensuring their timely availability to farmers for sowing and crop growth.

The Minister was informed that, as of today, the state has 2,34,712 metric tonnes of urea, 55,081 metric tonnes of DAP, 35,049 metric tonnes of NPK and 59,610 metric tonnes of SSP in stock. Sh. Rana said that linking fertiliser distribution with the “Meri Fasal Mera Byora” portal has benefited farmers and ensured that there has been no shortage of fertilisers. He further stated that this initiative has also resulted in savings of ₹863 crore in subsidy expenditure for the Central Government, which had highly appreciated the step taken by the Haryana Government.

Sh. Shyam Singh Rana also conducted a detailed review of the machinery being provided to farmers under the “Crop Residue Management” Scheme under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. He directed officials to intensify efforts to sensitise farmers against stubble burning. He also directed that machines such as Super Seeder, Baler, Happy Seeder, Straw Master and Zero Till Seed-cum-Fertiliser Drill, among others, be made available to farmers on time.

He said that physical verification of the machinery should be carried out immediately after its purchase by farmers and the subsidy amount should be transferred to their bank accounts at the earliest.

The Agriculture Minister directed officials to ensure the timely availability of fertilisers, seeds and machinery required for crop residue management, so that farmers do not face any difficulty during the upcoming Rabi season.