THE story of Haryana, which was carved out of fertile Punjab in November 1966, is one of unparalleled agricultural growth. Today, according to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana has become the neighbours envy and owners pride. Haryana is predominantly agrarian and 65 per cent of the population is dependent on agricultural and allied activities. Agriculture contributes 26.4 per cent to its gross domestic product. Hooda said that the major endeavour of his regime had been to build an egalitarian society and to increase food production and the income of farmers through a series of schemes.
The Green Revolution was implemented in the State within a few years of its creation, and it achieved a virtual miracle, producing millions of tonnes of wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables. Haryana has been feeding other parts of the country for almost four decades now. In 1966-67, Haryana only grew 26 lakh tonnes of foodgrains, but today with technological inputs and the toil of lakhs of farmers, production has gone up to 155 lakh tonnes. The State achieved an all-time high in food production 108.56 lakh tonnes during the rabi season of 2008-09; production of wheat increased from 102.36 tonnes in 2007-08 to 105.93 lakh tonnes in 2008-09, registering an all-time high productivity of 42.8 quintals a hectare.
For the uplift of some sections of small farmers living in abject poverty, the State government has devised innovative plans, which take care of their health; provide them infrastructure, including power and irrigation; and encourage them to educate their children. This is in addition to the landmark decisions taken for the welfare of the farming community, which include reduction of interest on crop loans, waiver of arrears on power bills, implementation of the National Agriculture Insurance scheme, reduction of the electricity tariff by 50 per cent for the horticulture and fisheries sectors and declaration of Rs.185 as the price for a quintal of sugarcane, the highest price for the crop in the country.
The government had earlier introduced a loan waiver scheme that benefited more than seven lakh farmers to the tune of Rs.2,189 crore. Soon after assuming power in 2005, the Hooda government waived electricity bills worth Rs.1,600 crore for rural and domestic consumers and for those using tube wells. The State government has increased the compensation amount for crop damage.
People feel that Hooda is emerging as the undisputed leader of farmers. His government has launched numerous schemes to make agriculture a profitable profession in Haryana. The government has also initiated measures for the safe and scientific storage of foodgrains. In order to arrest the decline of the water table, 84 rainwater-harvesting structures are being made.
The future of agriculture in Haryana is surely bright, Hooda quipped. The government has been encouraging farmers to diversify and adopt horticulture in a big way. It has already become lucrative as horticultural crops give more returns per unit area and require less water for irrigation than wheat, paddy and other cereal crops. Fruit plantations, floriculture, hybrid vegetables, mushroom cultivation, bee-keeping (apiculture) and fish farming are steadily attracting farmers, entrepreneurs, investors and businessmen in the State.
Haryana is fast emerging as a horticultural State: it stands fifth in cauliflower production, sixth in pea production, seventh in cabbage, onion, tomato and okra production, ninth in brinjal production and 10th in potato production.
Officials state that the area under fruits has increased from 12,640 ha during 1990-91 to 39,132 ha in 2008-09; correspondingly fruit production has gone up from 99,800 tonnes to 2.57 lakh tonnes in this period. For 2009-10, an additional area of 5,500 ha has been earmarked for horticultural crops and a production target of 2.5 lakh tonnes has been set.
There is a great demand from Delhi for Haryanas fresh vegetables, leading to an increase in the area under vegetable cultivation from 55,360 ha in 1990-91 to 298,430 ha in 2008-09; and vegetable production has increased from 802,240 tonnes to 3,796,530 tonnes in this period. Next year, the area under vegetable cultivation is expected to go up by three lakh ha and production will increase by 38 lakh tonnes, the officials added. Empowered by a vision to lead the domestic and export markets, the Horticulture Department has started training farmers at the Horticulture Training Institute at Uchani in Karnal district, where they are taught organic farming, measures to improve soil fertility and the latest in horticulture technology.
The government gives 100 per cent subsidy to farmers for the construction of community water tanks. Already, more than 75 such tanks have been constructed in areas facing extreme shortages of irrigation water. Thousands of farmers have used of government subsidies to set up drip irrigation facilities.
The government has been encouraging the setting up of herbal parks and the cultivation of spices. For the current year, 3,500 ha has been earmarked for medicinal plants, and 15,500 ha has been set aside for growing spices. A citrus unit has been set up in Sirsa and two wholesale markets are being set up in Mewat and Ganaur (Sonipat district) to facilitate the marketing of produce.
Floriculture is a booming sector: the area under flower cultivation has increased from 50 ha in 1990-91 to over 6,000 ha this year. The government is also giving Rs.30,000 per unit as assistance to farmers to set up vermicomposting production units to improve soil fertility and produce organic food.
Apiculture constitutes a source of sustainable income generation for rural and tribal farmers, even if it is carried out on a part-time basis. The Hooda government has opened two training centres, at Karnal and Yamunanagar. Haryana has nearly 64,000 bee colonies, both public and private, which provide self-employment to many rural families.
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