The North News
Chandigarh, March 9
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Sunday proposed an outlay of Rs 15,377 crore for agriculture and allied sectors in the 2026-27 budget, aimed at supporting targeted interventions in crop diversification, sustainability, market reforms and farmer welfare.
While presenting the budget estimates, Cheema said to promote sustainable cropping patterns, a pilot project encouraging a shift from paddy to kharif maize has been implemented in six districts — Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Bathinda, Sangrur, Jalandhar and Kapurthala — with an incentive of Rs 17,500 per hectare.
An allocation of Rs 15 crore has been earmarked for this purpose in 2026-27, he said.
To address the challenge of crop residue burning, the government continues to provide an 80 per cent subsidy to panchayats and a 50 per cent subsidy to individual farmers for the purchase of stubble management machinery.
During 2025-26, Rs 402 crore has been utilised for subsidising such equipment, and a budgetary provision of Rs 600 crore is proposed in 2026-27, Cheema said.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian highlighted the success of Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) adoption.
“The state disbursed Rs 35 crore in FY 2025-26 to incentivise water-saving techniques, with Rs 40 crore allocated for next year,” he said, while urging farmers to adopt DSR to address labour shortages and groundwater depletion.
“By extending a 33 per cent subsidy on PAU-recommended hybrid seeds, we have not only supported our farmers financially but have also reversed the declining trend in cotton cultivation,” he said.
Horticulture Minister Mohinder Bhagat lauded the announcements made for the sector in the budget and said the state government has prepared a special 10-year roadmap to strengthen horticulture in the state.
The minister said with the objective of promoting horticulture and enhancing farmers’ income in Punjab, projects worth around Rs 1,300 crore will be launched over the next 10 years with assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA.
He said these projects aim to promote climate-resilient and high-value horticulture crops across the state.
