Farmer's Input Scheme (Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board)

What is the Farmer's Input Scheme?

The Farmer's Input Scheme is a farmer welfare scheme of the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB), the body that runs the state's mandis and market yards. Unlike most schemes on this site, it is not a direct benefit transfer to individual farmers. It is a set of budgetary transfers HSAMB makes to two state corporations so that the inputs those corporations sell reach farmers at a lower price.

That distinction matters, and it is the single thing farmers most often get wrong about this scheme. There is no application form, no portal login and no per-farmer entitlement. The money moves from HSAMB to the corporations, and the farmer sees it as a cheaper bag of seed or a cheaper tonne of gypsum.

What does HSAMB actually fund?

Seed subsidy through the Haryana Seeds Development Corporation (HSDC)

HSAMB's stated intent is to introduce better seed and produce hybrid seed by subsidising certified seed sold through HSDC. The board has provided Rs 1 crore for assistance to the Haryana Seeds Development Corporation, and a further provision of Rs 112.50 lakh for the purchase of specific gravity separators and other machinery and equipment used in seed processing. HSAMB records that the scheme aims at encouraging organic agricultural produce in consultation with the Agriculture Department and HSDC.

Gypsum subsidy through HLRDC

Gypsum is the standard amendment for reclaiming alkaline (kallar) land. HSAMB notes that the Government of India declined to continue its gypsum subsidy, that gypsum use fell as a result, and that the expenditure is now to be borne by the Haryana government. HSAMB has therefore provided Rs 1 crore as a grant to the Haryana Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (HLRDC) as subsidy for the purchase of gypsum.

Working capital to HSDC

Availability of quality seed at an affordable price depends on the corporation having cash at the right time in the season. On a proposal from HSDC, HSAMB provides Rs 5 crore of working capital as a loan at 6 per cent per annum. The amount is released by 15 April and must be returned by HSDC after the sale of seed, not later than 15 December of the same year.

Who benefits from the Farmer's Input Scheme?

You benefit if:

• You are a farmer in Haryana buying certified, improved or hybrid seed from the Haryana Seeds Development Corporation or its authorised outlets.
• You are reclaiming alkaline or kallar land and buying gypsum through the HLRDC channel.

You cannot apply for this scheme in your own name at all:

• There is no individual application to HSAMB under the Farmer's Input Scheme. HSAMB does not accept farmer applications for seed or gypsum subsidy.
• Traders and input dealers are not beneficiaries; the funding goes to state corporations, not to private seed sellers.
• A farmer who buys seed from a private dealer does not get this subsidy, since the price support is built into the corporation's own sale price.

How to apply for the Farmer's Input Scheme benefit

There is no application form for this scheme, because HSAMB pays the two state corporations rather than the farmer. What follows is the real route by which the benefit reaches you.

1. For seed, buy certified, improved or hybrid seed from a Haryana Seeds Development Corporation sale centre or an outlet authorised by it. The subsidy is already reflected in the price you pay, so ask for the printed rate and a receipt.
2. For gypsum, approach the Haryana Land Reclamation and Development Corporation channel for alkaline land reclamation, or your district agriculture office, which can direct you to the current supply arrangement in your block.
3. Keep the purchase receipt. It is the only record you will have of the benefit, and it matters if you later claim any related departmental assistance on land reclamation.
4. For any dispute over the rate charged, take the receipt to the Deputy Director of Agriculture in your district or call the department's toll-free helpline on 1800-180-2117 between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday.

Where does this sit among Haryana's farmer schemes?

HSAMB runs a small set of farmer welfare schemes alongside this one, including financial assistance and the Mukhyamantri Kisan Evam Khetihar Majdoor Jiwan Suraksha Yojna, and it provides ex-gratia financial aid to cultivators for injury or death during farming operations. Those are direct, application-based benefits with their own forms; the Farmer's Input Scheme is not.

For an individual, application-based input subsidy, the relevant routes are the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare schemes on agriharyana.gov.in, farm machinery, crop residue management machines, seed and crop-specific missions — rather than HSAMB.

What is not published

HSAMB's scheme page does not publish a per-quintal seed subsidy rate, a per-tonne gypsum rate, farmer eligibility criteria or an application procedure, because the scheme is structured as a transfer to corporations rather than to farmers. Any figure quoted as a "per-farmer entitlement under the HSAMB Farmer's Input Scheme" should be treated with caution unless it comes from HSDC's or HLRDC's own published sale rates for the season.

How to check your application status

The Farmer's Input Scheme has no individual application, so there is no ticket number, portal login or SMS status to track in the way a direct benefit transfer scheme would have. What you can and should verify is whether the benefit has actually reached you at the point of purchase.

• At an HSDC seed outlet: ask the counter staff to show the current notified sale rate for the seed variety you are buying, and check that the printed rate on your receipt matches it. If the rate looks like the open-market price with no subsidy built in, the outlet may be out of the subsidised stock for that variety, or the season's allocation may already be exhausted.
• For gypsum through HLRDC: confirm with the HLRDC-linked supply point or your district agriculture office whether gypsum is currently available under the subsidised arrangement for your block. Availability depends on the season and on how much of the year's grant has already been used.
• To follow up on a delay or a doubtful rate: call the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare helpline at 1800-180-2117 (9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday) and quote the outlet name, the date of purchase attempt, and the variety or input you were trying to buy.
• In person: the Deputy Director of Agriculture in your district can confirm the current status of HSDC and HLRDC supply for the season, since both corporations report their stock position to the district agriculture set-up.
• Do not expect HSAMB itself to respond to a status query about this scheme by name. HSAMB's role ends at transferring funds to the two corporations; day-to-day stock and rate queries are handled by HSDC, HLRDC and the district agriculture office, not by the board.

Common reasons for rejection

Because there is no application to reject, the practical failure points are different: a farmer either does not get the subsidised price, or is turned away at the point of purchase. The usual reasons are:

• Buying from a private dealer instead of the corporation channel. The subsidy is built into the price HSDC and HLRDC-linked outlets charge. A private seed shop or a private gypsum trader is not part of this arrangement, so their price will not reflect the subsidy. Fix: buy specifically from an HSDC sale centre or an outlet it has authorised, and from the HLRDC-linked gypsum supply point, not from an unrelated dealer.
• Stock or allocation already exhausted for the season. HSAMB's grant to each corporation is a fixed annual amount, not an open-ended fund. Once a corporation's subsidised stock for a variety or a district is sold out, the standard commercial price applies for the rest of the season. Fix: buy early in the sowing season rather than waiting until closer to the sowing deadline, and check availability with the outlet before travelling.
• Land not classified as alkaline for gypsum purposes. HLRDC's gypsum supply under this scheme is meant for reclaiming alkaline (kallar) land. A farmer whose land does not fall in a recognised alkaline patch may not be able to draw on the same subsidised channel. Fix: confirm with the district agriculture office or HLRDC whether your plot falls within a notified reclamation area before planning a gypsum purchase.
• Confusing this scheme with a personal cash subsidy. Some farmers approach HSAMB directly asking for a subsidy amount to be paid to them, or submit documents expecting reimbursement. HSAMB does not process any such claim under the Farmer's Input Scheme, since the money never routes through farmers. Fix: direct any request for a direct, application-based input subsidy to the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare's own schemes on agriharyana.gov.in instead of to HSAMB.
• Seed purchased is not certified or improved variety stock. The subsidy under this scheme applies to certified, improved and hybrid seed sold by HSDC, not to farm-saved or uncertified seed even if bought at an HSDC counter as a side transaction. Fix: ask specifically for certified/hybrid seed and check the tag or bag marking before paying.