The Haryana government has taken an important step to provide relief to farmers and strengthen food security. The government has increased the subsidy given on certified wheat seeds to Rs 1,075 per quintal, which was Rs 1,000 per quintal last year. According to the state government, this step will encourage farmers to produce more production and high quality seeds in the upcoming Rabi season.

According to the state government, the price of certified wheat seed has been fixed at Rs 3,000 per quintal this year, which was Rs 2,875 last year. For farmers per acre, this cost will sit around Rs 1,200. This price has increased due to an increase of Rs 150 per quintal in MSP and an additional Rs 50 per quintal incentive for seed producing farmers. Despite this, the government has reduced the subsidy to Rs 1,075 per quintal to reduce the burden of farmers.

Availability through government agencies

The state government has said that these subsidized certified seeds will be made available at the counters of government agencies across the state. These will include agencies such as Haryana Seed Development Corporation (HSDC), National Seed Corporation (NSC), Haryana Warehousing and Logistics Development (HLRDL), Haryana State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation (HAFED), IFFCO, Krubhko and NFL.

According to PTI, every year the state consumes 12 to 14 lakh quintals of certified wheat seed, out of which about 5.5 lakh quintals of seeds are made available by government agencies, while the remaining comes from private growers.

Direction to increase farmers’ income and production

The government believes that this initiative will promote sowing on time, encourage the use of varieties of high production capacity and increase the income of farmers. In Haryana, wheat is cultivated on about 60 to 62 lakh acres of land. The state government reiterated that it will continue the schemes and subsidies centered for farmers so that the state maintains its leading role in strengthening the country’s grain reserves.