Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday, 29 May 2026 announced the launch of a nationwide campaign titled 'Khet Bachao Abhiyan' (Save the Farm Campaign), to run from 1 June to 30 June 2026 across the country. The campaign, he said, aims to make both farmland and farmers secure and prosperous.

Context

Chouhan posted on X, announcing: '1 जून से 30 जून तक पूरे देश में 'खेत बचाओ अभियान' चलेगा।' ('From 1 June to 30 June, the 'Khet Bachao Abhiyan' will run across the entire country.'). He added that the campaign's objective is to make 'खेत और किसान दोनों को, सुरक्षित तथा समृद्ध' — both the farm and the farmer, safe and prosperous. The announcement comes days before the campaign's scheduled start, allowing states and districts time to mobilise.

Chouhan, a four-term former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, has a long record of farmer-facing outreach programmes at the state level. Since assuming charge as Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development, he has consistently framed policy in terms of visible, time-bound campaigns that directly reach cultivators.

Policy Backdrop

The campaign fits within a broader pattern of the central government combining income-support transfers with awareness and regulatory measures aimed at protecting cultivable land from non-agricultural diversion. The flagship PM-KISAN scheme, launched in 2019, already provides annual income support of Rs 6,000 to landholding farmer families across India as a direct benefit transfer.

Successive administrations have also pursued goals such as doubling farmers' incomes, improving crop insurance coverage, and strengthening soil health — all of which require keeping agricultural land productive and in the hands of farming families. A month-long national campaign with a land-protection focus aligns with these longer-term objectives, particularly ahead of the kharif sowing season, which begins in earnest in June with the arrival of the southwest monsoon.

Stakeholders and Impact

Small and marginal farmers, who constitute the majority of India's agricultural landowners, stand as the primary beneficiaries of any programme aimed at securing farmland tenure and improving on-farm livelihoods. Protecting cultivable land from encroachment, illegal diversion, or distress sale has been a recurring concern in rural policy circles, particularly in states with high land fragmentation.

District administrations and state agriculture departments are expected to be the principal implementing arms of the campaign. The June window — coinciding with pre-sowing activity and early monsoon arrivals — gives the outreach practical relevance, as farmers are already engaged with their fields and more receptive to guidance on land use, soil preparation, and government entitlements.

What's Next

State-level implementation orders and district-level events are anticipated in the days leading up to 1 June 2026. The Agriculture Ministry is likely to release operational guidelines detailing the scope of activities — which may include awareness drives, grievance redressal camps, and coordination with revenue departments on land-record digitisation. Any legislative or budgetary follow-through could surface in the 2026 monsoon session of Parliament.

The campaign's success will ultimately be measured by the scale of farmer participation and whether it translates into durable protections for agricultural land — a challenge that has outlasted multiple policy cycles and remains central to India's rural economy.