Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini attended the Bागवानी Rashtriya Sammelan (National Horticulture Conference) held in Karnal on Friday, 29 May 2026, marking a significant state-level push to advance the horticulture sector across Haryana.

Context

Karnal has long served as a hub for agricultural research and policy dialogue in Haryana, hosting several ICAR institutes and regularly chosen as the venue for national-level farm conferences owing to its robust scientific infrastructure. The National Horticulture Conference brought together horticulture farmers, agricultural scientists, and policy officials to deliberate on expanding the sector's footprint in the state.

Chief Minister Saini, who assumed office in March 2024 succeeding Manohar Lal Khattar, has made agricultural diversification a visible priority of his administration. His presence at the conference signals the state government's continued commitment to horticulture as a pillar of rural economic policy.

Policy Backdrop

Haryana has been a participant in the central government's Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) since 2014-15, a scheme designed to expand the area under fruits, vegetables, and flowers through subsidised inputs, micro-irrigation support, and market linkage programmes. Successive state budgets have channelled funds under MIDH toward protected cultivation and cluster development in key districts, including Karnal.

The broader strategic imperative behind these investments is crop diversification — shifting farmers away from the water-intensive wheat-paddy cycle that has contributed to severe groundwater depletion in the state. Horticulture is seen as a viable alternative that can simultaneously raise farmer incomes and reduce pressure on the water table.

Stakeholders and Impact

Horticulture farmers across Haryana stand to benefit most directly from the policy directions discussed at the conference, particularly those in districts already cultivating fruits, vegetables, and floriculture crops. Agricultural scientists and research institutions based in Karnal are key participants, providing evidence-based inputs on variety development, post-harvest management, and precision agriculture.

Farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and agri-businesses engaged in cold-chain logistics and processing are also closely watching the outcomes of such conferences, as new cluster development projects and institutional partnerships are typically announced in their aftermath.

What's Next

Observers will track announcements from the Haryana State Horticulture Department in the days following the conference, including any revised area-expansion targets, fresh budget allocations under MIDH, or new MoUs signed with FPOs and private agri-sector players. The conference's outcomes could shape the state's annual action plan for horticulture for the coming crop season.

If the state follows through with concrete scheme launches or financial commitments, the Karnal conference could mark a meaningful inflection point in Haryana's decade-long effort to rebalance its farm economy away from cereal monoculture toward higher-value horticultural crops.