The paddy crop has emerged as one of the major kharif crops in Sonepat and Panipat districts over the past several years. The Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department has set a target of bringing 3.40 lakh acres under paddy cultivation in Sonepat during the kharif season 2026, while Panipat has been assigned a target of 1.82 lakh acres. With the sowing season underway, agricultural activities have gathered pace in both districts.
Keeping in view the increasing area under paddy cultivation, the department has also raised the targets for paddy sowing through the direct seeding of rice (DSR) technique and crop diversification under the state government’s flagship scheme, Mera Pani Meri Virasat (MPMV), to promote groundwater conservation.
According to data, the department has proposed a target of 20,000 acres under DSR in Sonepat and 30,000 acres in Panipat. The department has also proposed to diversify crops from paddy to pulses, oilseeds and cotton on one lakh acres across the state under the MPMV scheme. Of this, Sonepat has been assigned a target of 2,600 acres and Panipat 3,500 acres.
Virender Arya, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA), Sonepat, said the district has around 4.02 lakh acres of cultivated land, of which nearly 3.40 lakh acres are under paddy cultivation, making it the dominant kharif crop.
Apart from paddy, sugarcane is cultivated on around 25,000 acres, millet on nearly 10,000 acres, fodder on about 4,000 acres and cotton on around 2,000 acres, he added.
Arya said cotton was once cultivated on nearly 50,000 acres in the district. However, farmers gradually shifted away from the crop over the past 12-15 years due to repeated pink bollworm attacks and wilt disease, which caused heavy financial losses.
He said the department has launched an awareness campaign to encourage farmers to adopt the MPMV scheme. Officials have visited around 80 villages in the past month to educate farmers about crop diversification and water conservation, Arya added.
Devender Kuhar, Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Panipat and Karnal, said farmers are well aware of changing climatic conditions and the possibility of a weaker monsoon due to El Nino. As a result, more farmers are opting for the DSR technique for paddy cultivation this year.
“We expect the number of farmers adopting the DSR technique to increase further this season compared to previous years,” Kuhar said.
In Panipat, the total cultivated area is around 2.42 lakh acres, with a paddy cultivation target of 1.82 lakh acres. Balwant Singh, DDA, Panipat, said paddy was cultivated on 1,84,500 acres during the Kharif season 2025-26, while the target for the current season has been fixed at 1.82 lakh acres.
Similarly, sugarcane was cultivated on 28,500 acres last year, and the target has been increased to 29,000 acres this season.
Singh said farmers had adopted the DSR technique on only 1,731 acres during the corresponding period last year, whereas around 6,000 acres have already been brought under DSR this season.
Besides, farmers had opted for crop diversification under the MPMV scheme on 564 acres last season. This year, crop diversification has already been undertaken on around 1,200 acres, he added.
Ravinder Rathi, a farmer from Urlana Khurd village in Panipat, said he has been using the DSR technique since 2020 and has sown paddy on around 95 acres this season through the method.
“I have been sowing paddy through the DSR technique since 2020. It helps save water, reduces cultivation costs, lowers dependence on labour and also provides good-quality yields,” Rathi said.
Another farmer from the same village, Amrit Pal Singh, said he adopted the DSR technique in 2024 and has been cultivating paddy on around 35 acres using the method.
He said the technique not only conserves water but also offers several other advantages. “Labourers charge nearly Rs 5,000 per acre during the transplanting season. With DSR, dependence on labour is significantly reduced, and the government also provides a subsidy of Rs 4,500 to farmers adopting the technique,” he said.
He added that DSR saves time, reduces the incidence of crop diseases, improves yield quality compared to conventional paddy transplantation and minimises humidity in the field as the crop requires less water.
