Expansion of Irrigation, Crop Diversification and Modern Farming Technologies Will Make Agriculture More Profitable: Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai
Chief Minister Honours Progressive Farmers at Dialogue on ‘Kisan Aur Kisani – Protsahan Aur Parinam’
Raipur, August, 2026/Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai said that agriculture is not merely a means of livelihood but the foundation of Chhattisgarh’s culture, economy, and social life. He said the State Government is committed to making farming more profitable, modern, and sustainable by expanding irrigation facilities, promoting crop diversification, encouraging modern agricultural technologies and mechanisation, and supporting agriculture-based enterprises to increase farmers’ income. The Chief Minister made these remarks while addressing the dialogue programme on “Kisan Aur Kisani – Protsahan Aur Parinam” in Raipur, where he also honoured progressive farmers from different districts for excellence in farming, innovation, and their contribution to the agricultural sector.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Sai said that growing up in a farming family gave him first-hand experience of the challenges faced by farmers. He said that even while serving as a Union Minister of State, he remained closely connected with agriculture and regularly visited his village and fields.
The Chief Minister said that after assuming office, the State Government fulfilled its promises to farmers by ensuring better returns for their produce. He said Chhattisgarh is procuring paddy at Rs. 3,100 per quintal, with procurement up to 21 quintals per acre, and has also paid the pending paddy bonus of the previous two years. During the last Kharif marketing season, the State procured a record 141 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from nearly 25 lakh farmers, strengthening the rural economy.
He said the government is working in line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of doubling farmers’ income by ensuring remunerative prices, reducing production costs, and making essential agricultural resources available. He added that farmers are being encouraged to diversify beyond paddy cultivation, and suitable amendments have been made to the Krishak Unnati Yojana to support this objective.
To promote crop diversification, Shri Sai said that farmers cultivating pulses, oilseeds, maize, kodo, and kutki instead of paddy will receive Rs. 15,000 per acre as input assistance. He added that horticulture, vegetable cultivation, fisheries, animal husbandry, dairy farming, and minor forest produce-based livelihoods are also being promoted to create multiple sources of income for farmers.
Emphasising the importance of irrigation, the Chief Minister said the State Government is implementing new irrigation projects, barrages, anicuts, and canal expansion works to bring more agricultural land under irrigation. He said solar irrigation pumps are being provided to farmers, while drip and sprinkler irrigation systems and subsidies for modern agricultural machinery are being promoted to encourage mechanisation.
He announced that barrages worth nearly Rs. 2,000 crore will be constructed at Matnar and Deurgaon on the Indravati River in Bastar, benefiting thousands of farmers. Administrative approval of nearly Rs. 3,000 crore has also been granted for the Sikasar–Kodar Canal Linking Project, while nearly Rs. 2,800 crore has been sanctioned for the reconstruction and modernisation of various irrigation projects across the state.
