Government is implementing the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission in a step-wise manner- Dhankar.

Chandigarh, Jun 22 – Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Mr. O.P. Dhankar, said that the State Government is implementing the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission in a step-wise manner, and is offering the highest-ever compensation and incentives to the farmers.
The Minister was replying to a question about farmers’ agitation during a press conference here today, where he announced that Haryana has become the fourth state after Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Kerala, all the rural areas of which have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).
Mr. O.P. Dhankar said that the present State Government was working in the interests of farmers and had disbursed Rs 2,500 crore as compensation in two-and-a-half years of its tenure.
He said that while the report of the Swaminathan Commission was submitted to the government in 2006, the previous State Government led by former Chief Minister, Mr. Bhupinder Singh Hooda, failed to implement the recommendations of this report, which was finally implemented by the present State Government. “In fact, Mr. Hooda had formed a committee which further delayed the implementation of the recommendations of this report,” he added.
He said that while the report had recommended compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre to farmers, the government led by Mr. Hooda paid them only Rs 6,000 per acre, whereas the present State Government has given Rs 12,000 per acre to farmers as compensation.
Apart from this, the Haryana Government is making rapid strides, especially compared to other states, in implementing the recommendations of the Commission, such as making agriculture risk-free for farmers, providing zero-interest loans and encouraging crop diversification, he added.
“The Haryana Government is working to make farmers self-sufficient instead of depending on loans by fixing a target to increase their income to Rs one lakh per acre. However, it is a reality that farmers in all corners of the world require assistance in the form of subsidies as the agriculture sector does not result in earnings as high as that of the service sector. Therefore, the present State Government offers subsidies to the tune of Rs 11,000 crore per year,” he added.
The Agriculture Minister also invited all farmers’ organisations for talks regarding their demands, and said that farmers should keep raising their issues so that the Government may resolve them in a timely manner.
Replying to another question, he said that it was the constant endeavour of the Haryana Government to ensure that farmers get the best price for their produce, and that they do not suffer losses due to drastic drop in price. “We want the farmers to maximise their profits, and provide them support by offering Minimum Support Price for their produce,” he added.
Replying to another question, he said that while drastic changes in selling price of produce were the result of market forces, the Government was working on a plan to seek possibilities for stabilising prices of staples such as potato, cauliflower, tomato and onion. It is being considered to levy more taxes when prices improve, and use the funds thus collected for farmers’ welfare when the prices drop, he added.
Replying to a question regarding procurement of sunflower in the State, Mr. Dhankar said that the Central Government had been requested to procure 50 per cent of the produce.
Describing his tour of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji as fruitful, the Minister said that the delegation led by him had studied in detail the techniques being adopted for horticulture, floriculture, dairying and animal husbandry and storage and transportation of wheat, which would now be replicated in Haryana as per feasibility.
He said that the modern techniques being used in these countries for bulk storage and transportation of wheat for export, standardisation of organic fertiliser for organic farming, food security, preservation and packaging of food and dairy management would be replicated in Haryana.
He said that some companies with roots in New Zealand were already working in Kundli, and they had evinced keen interest in making the agricultural summits hosted by Haryana and New Zealand truly international through mutual participation. This would help farmers in the State gain knowledge of and access to modern techniques being used across the globe. Besides, entrepreneurs with roots in India have also evinced keen interest in investing in Haryana.
Apart from this, Fiji has sought assistance from the Haryana Government for modernisation of its sugarcane growing techniques and sugar mills, apart from sharing of advanced techniques in agriculture.
Besides, a delegation from The Netherlands led by Agricultural Counsellor to India and Sri Lanka at the Embassy of The Netherlands, Mr. Wouter Verhey, today called on the Agriculture Minister to follow up on a Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this year, and to discuss further possibilities of cooperation between the two governments.