Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Sunday announced that the state government will formulate a policy next year to promote natural and organic farming on land owned by panchayats.

“About 800-acre land that agriculture department owns will also be leased only to farmers committed to practicing natural and organic farming on such land for at least next 10 years,” Saini said while addressing an “agriculture workshop” organised in Kurukshetra under the natural farming promotion and cluster formation programme of the agriculture and farmers’ welfare department.

On this occasion, Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat, known for promoting natural farming was also present.

The Haryana government launched a natural farming scheme in 2022, and so far, about two lakh farmers have registered approximately three lakh acres of land on the portal meant for this purpose. While 23,930 farmers covering 44,077 acres have been verified for adopting natural farming, during the 2025–26 fiscal year, natural farming was practiced on 20,727 acres across the state, according to official data.

The government has set up natural farming training centres at Gurukul (Kurukshetra), Hameti (Jind), Mangiana (Sirsa) and Gharaunda in Karnal.

A state advisor has also been appointed at the Gurukul training centre in Kurukshetra to train progressive farmers. So far, 12,188 participants, including young farmers, women and government employees, have been trained, while 6,234 sarpanches have received one-day online training through the Hameti training centre.

“In collaboration with Haryana Agricultural University, natural farming will be introduced in a 2,000-acre cluster in Kurukshetra district under a new initiative called smart agriculture,” Saini said, urging farmers to contribute towards making Haryana a model state for natural farming,

“If farmers suffer any losses under this scheme, the Haryana government will fully compensate them,” Saini said, adding that the Morni Block will be developed as a Natural and Organic Farming Block.

The CM announced that farmers certified by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) for natural and organic farming will receive financial assistance of ₹10,000 per acre annually for five years.

Haryana state seed certification agency will be designated as a certification body for organic farming certification. Natural and organic farmers will be provided space in agricultural markets (mandis) at Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Karnal, Sonepat, Rohtak, Gurugram, Faridabad, Hisar, Charkhi Dadri and Narnaul to sell their produce. Testing laboratories and APEDA-recognised certification centres will also be established to ensure better market access for farmers selling natural and organic produce.

The CM appreciated the exemplary work carried out by Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat in advancing the natural and organic farming movement and elaborated on the initiatives undertaken under his guidance.

Saini said that under the natural farming scheme, ₹75 lakh has been disbursed among 2,500 farmers for purchasing four drums each, while a total subsidy of ₹2.97 crore has been directly transferred into farmers’ bank accounts for the purchase of 1,171 indigenous cows.

Dedicated efforts essential

Devvrat said that dedicated efforts are essential to take the natural farming mission forward. He cautioned that if adequate attention is not given to this issue, agricultural land could eventually become barren.

He said that natural farming has now become one of the country’s most pressing needs. Recalling the period after Independence, he said agricultural scientists had recommended the use of 13 kg nitrogen per hectare to achieve food self-sufficiency, but in contrast, farmers today use as many as 13 bags of chemical fertilisers per acre.

“Merely increasing the use of chemical fertilisers will not lead to sustainable growth in agricultural production. Instead, improving soil fertility through natural farming is essential,” he said, urging agriculture department officials and agricultural scientists from state universities to support this mission.