Kumar Bahukhandi
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai presents an honour to a farmer at the Utkrisht Krishak Ratna Samman Samaroh in Raipur on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.Photo: channel24india.com via CG/CMO
Chief Minister honours progressive farmers in Raipur; says 360 new procurement centres will make paddy sales easier as buying begins on November 15
Key Highlights
- Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai honoured progressive farmers at the Utkrisht Krishak Ratna Samman Samaroh in Raipur.
- The ceremony was held on the birth anniversary of former minister and MP Manharan Lal Pandey.
- Paddy procurement will begin on November 15, and the government plans to open 360 new procurement centres.
- Sai said new irrigation projects worth approximately ₹10,000 crore had been initiated over the past two years.
- Approximately ₹2,800 crore has been approved for the renovation of 1,500 older irrigation projects.
- Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap recalled Pandey’s contribution to public service and spoke about the government’s work for farmers.
Raipur: Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Tuesday said improving farmers’ prosperity and increasing their incomes were among the Chhattisgarh government’s highest priorities, as he honoured progressive farmers from across the state at the Utkrisht Krishak Ratna Samman Samaroh.
The ceremony was organised at the Circuit House in Civil Lines, Raipur, on the birth anniversary of former minister and MP Manharan Lal Pandey. Sai praised the farmers’ contribution to agriculture and said Chhattisgarh’s prosperity was closely linked to the hard work of its farming community.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai addresses the Utkrisht Krishak Ratna Samman Samaroh at Circuit House in Raipur on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Photo: channel24india.com via CG/CMO
The Chief Minister said agriculture remained central to the state’s economy and rural life. The government, he said, was working to help farmers receive a fair price for their produce, reduce cultivation costs and improve access to irrigation and other essential facilities.
Sai said farmers’ prosperity and higher incomes were among the government’s foremost priorities, and that the well-being of villages and the state depended on the well-being of farmers.
360 new paddy procurement centres
The Chief Minister said paddy procurement would begin on November 15 and that the government had decided to open 360 new procurement centres to make the process more convenient.
He said the additional centres would help reduce the distance farmers must travel to sell their paddy and ease pressure on existing centres. The government is making the necessary arrangements so that eligible farmers can sell their produce without difficulty, he added.
The decision follows the Cabinet’s approval of paddy procurement for the 2026–27 Kharif marketing year at ₹3,100 per quintal, with a maximum procurement limit of 21 quintals per acre.
Sai said the new centres were intended to save farmers time and effort and make the procurement process more accessible.
Progressive farmers honoured
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai honours a farmer at the Utkrisht Krishak Ratna Samman Samaroh, held on the birth anniversary of Manharan Lal Pandey, in Raipur on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Photo: channel24india,com via CG/CMO
The Chief Minister presented the Utkrisht Krishak Ratna Samman to progressive farmers from different parts of Chhattisgarh and appreciated their contribution to agriculture.
He said farmers were combining traditional knowledge with new technology and innovative practices. Recognising their work, he added, could encourage others to adopt improved agricultural methods.
Sai said approximately 80 per cent of Chhattisgarh’s population was directly or indirectly connected with agriculture, underlining the sector’s importance to rural livelihoods and the state’s economy.
Tribute to Manharan Lal Pandey
The Chief Minister paid tribute to Manharan Lal Pandey, recalling his connection with farming and rural life. He said Pandey had devoted his life to public service and contributed to the development of irrigation facilities.
Sai described Pandey as an inspiration and guide, and congratulated the organisers for recognising farmers and social workers in his memory.
Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap, who also addressed the gathering, recalled Pandey’s contribution to social and public life. He said the former minister had worked for the welfare of different sections of society.
Kashyap said the Chief Minister came from a farming family and understood farmers’ needs and concerns. He added that the state government was taking decisions to support farmers and agricultural development.
Irrigation projects and renovation
Sai said expanding irrigation was essential to agricultural prosperity and that new irrigation projects worth approximately ₹10,000 crore had been initiated in Chhattisgarh over the past two years.
He said around ₹2,800 crore had been approved for renovating 1,500 older irrigation projects. The supplied release’s headline says the work would increase the irrigated area by 76,000 hectares. The corresponding sentence in the body of the release is incomplete, so the figure should be checked against the official project details before publication.
The Chief Minister also referred to work on new projects, including the Matnar and Deurgaon projects on the Indravati river. He said the government wanted irrigation facilities to reach more farms and reduce agriculture’s dependence on rainfall.
Sai said irrigation expansion was essential to making agriculture more productive and providing farmers with a more reliable supply of water.
Credit and agricultural technology
The Chief Minister recalled the introduction of the Kisan Credit Card during former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure. He said the facility had helped farmers obtain the capital needed for cultivation and reduced their dependence on expensive borrowing.
Sai said farmers had once faced agricultural loan interest rates of up to 18 per cent from cooperative banks, whereas eligible farmers now had access to agricultural loans at zero per cent interest. He said this had reduced the burden of interest and made working capital easier to obtain.
He also spoke about the promotion of agricultural research, modern technology, organic farming and natural farming under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. Such efforts, he said, were aimed at improving production, reducing costs and increasing farmers’ incomes.
The Chief Minister praised the Prime Minister’s work towards a developed India and said the country’s international economic standing had grown under his leadership.
Dignitaries present
Among those present were Karmveer Singh, Akhilesh Soni, Naveen Markandey, Ram Garg, Alok Chandra Thakur, Harshita Pandey and Anurag Pandey. Public representatives, members of the Manharan Lal Pandey memorial institution, invited guests and farmers from across Chhattisgarh also attended.
