Chandigarh, Jan. 16 -- With an eye on boosting income of farmers and giving fresh momentum to agriculture and allied sectors, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday held a pre-budget consultation meeting at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar. The meeting brought together agricultural scientists, progressive farmers, farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and stakeholders from animal husbandry, horticulture, fisheries and the rural economy to solicit inputs for the state budget 2026-27. Addressing the gathering, Saini said that the government is framing policies with farmers' needs and challenges at the core, and agriculture will continue to receive the highest priority in the budget. He reiterated that agriculture plays a vital role in sustaining the country's economy. "Haryana's identity is deeply rooted in hardworking farmers and a strong rural economy. Therefore, agriculture and allied sectors will receive special focus in the forthcoming budget," Saini said, recalling the previous pre-budget consultation held on January 9, 2025 when 161 suggestions were received from farmers and experts, of which 99 suggestions were included in the budget 2025-26. "Based on those inputs, the government made several decisions for the agriculture sector." The chief minister said that strict legislation has been enacted to prevent the sale of spurious seeds. He said that, in line with farmers' suggestions, the government has undertaken modernisation of all mandis, implemented a gate-pass system for all crops, established seed testing laboratories in every district, set up new Centres of Excellence and expanded the Horticulture Mission across the state. The suggestions received this year, Saini said, are even more practical, high-quality and forward-looking. Assuring stakeholders that all inputs would be examined seriously, he made it clear that there would be no compromise or shortfall in budgetary support for agricultural development. The chief minister said that those whose suggestions are going to be incorporated into the Budget 2026-27 would be specially invited to witness the budget presentation in the Vidhan Sabha....