The Chief Minister's Office of Chhattisgarh announced on 10 July 2026 that the state government is actively promoting alternative crops — including pulses, oilseeds, maize, kodo, kutki, and ragi — alongside paddy, and has decided to provide input assistance of ₹15,000 per acre to farmers cultivating these crops under the Krishak Unnati Yojana.

The post, shared from the official CMO handle, states: 'सुशासन सरकार धान के साथ-साथ दलहन, तिलहन, मक्का, कोदो, कुटकी और रागी जैसी वैकल्पिक फसलों को बढ़ावा दे रही है' ('The good-governance government is promoting alternative crops such as pulses, oilseeds, maize, kodo, kutki and ragi alongside paddy'). The announcement frames crop diversification as a 'strong means of increasing farmers' income and making farming more profitable.'

Context

Chhattisgarh has historically been one of India's major paddy-producing states, with a large share of its farming population — including a significant tribal farming community — dependent on a single kharif crop. While paddy cultivation has provided income stability, monoculture dependence has raised concerns around groundwater depletion, soil health, and vulnerability to price and weather shocks.

The state's pivot toward millets and pulses aligns with a broader national push. India championed millets globally during the International Year of Millets in 2023, and the National Food Security Mission has targeted pulses and oilseeds since 2007 to reduce import dependence and improve nutritional security.

Policy Backdrop

The Krishak Unnati Yojana is a state-level scheme designed to provide direct input support to farmers who shift away from paddy toward alternative crops. The ₹15,000 per acre assistance is intended to offset the initial cost differential that often discourages farmers from experimenting with less-familiar crops.

This follows the earlier Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, launched in 2020, which delivered direct income support to Chhattisgarh's farmers and established the state's template of cash-transfer-linked agricultural incentives. The Krishak Unnati Yojana builds on that architecture by tying support to specific diversification choices rather than to paddy acreage alone.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are small and tribal farmers across Chhattisgarh who currently rely on paddy as their principal crop. For these households, the per-acre input subsidy can meaningfully reduce the financial risk of switching to crops such as ragi, kodo, and kutki — millets that are nutritionally dense, drought-tolerant, and better suited to rain-fed conditions prevalent in tribal belt districts.

Oilseeds and pulses, meanwhile, address a structural gap in domestic supply chains. Several Indian states — including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan — have run similar diversification incentives, and Chhattisgarh's scheme mirrors those efforts by directly linking financial assistance to alternative-crop acreage.

What's Next

The immediate focus will be on beneficiary registration, acreage verification, and the disbursement schedule under Krishak Unnati Yojana ahead of the upcoming kharif season. Operational details — including eligibility criteria and the verification mechanism for alternative-crop cultivation — will determine how effectively the ₹15,000-per-acre support reaches intended beneficiaries.

If implemented at scale, the scheme could shift Chhattisgarh's cropping pattern in ways that reduce pressure on irrigation infrastructure while diversifying farmer income streams — a model that other paddy-dominant states are likely to watch closely.