Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has made a significant commitment to the state's agricultural sector. At a recent farmers' association meeting in Chandigarh, Saini assured that the Haryana government will guarantee the purchase of all crops at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). This move is aimed at supporting farmers and ensuring fair compensation for their produce.

The government aims to signal farmers to diversify into more remunerative crops like pulses and oilseeds, especially in regions like Punjab and Haryana, where paddy cultivation is prevalent.

The farmers raised slogans against the Union government at the protest venue. A farmer from Punjab asked for action against the accused in violence that erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri in October 2021. Mahapanchayat has led to traffic snarls at the National Capital.

This move is part of a series of protests orchestrated by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, marking a countrywide call to action.

Under the assured procurement guarantee scheme, all farmers across all states will be eligible for procurement at MSP. However, the benefits of the scheme will be exclusively reserved for those farmers who transition to pulses and maize cultivation. Existing growers of these crops will not qualify for the scheme's benefits.

The Congress in Rajasthan has announced plans to conduct a series of awareness meetings at the grassroots level to bolster the ongoing farmers' movement advocating for a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Representatives from 37 farmer bodies, affiliated with the SKM, convened to strategize for the forthcoming "mahapanchayat" at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan. 

In Wednesday's meeting, the state governments were also asked to adopt or improve their existing MSP procurement applications in line with the standard and core features of the Centre's AgriStack portal, for bringing about transparency and efficiency in the procurement system before the start of 2024-25 kharif marketing season.

India has proposed that developing countries be allowed to give subsidies to their poor fishermen to catch fish till exclusive economic zones (EEZs) or up to 200 nautical miles from the shore; while rich countries engaged in fishing beyond this zone should stop providing any kind of subsidies for the next 25 years.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher told media persons at Shambhu that they will decide the next course of action on Friday evening.

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi slammed the BJP for neglecting the MS Swaminathan report's recommendations. 

Thousands of farmers, who began their march to Delhi on February 13, were stopped at the Haryana border, where they clashed with security personnel. The farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri points between Punjab and Haryana since then.