Between 2020 and 2025, Haryana’s cropping pattern has undergone a marked transformation. The area under rice cultivation expanded from 15.26 lakh hectares in 2020 to 18.68 lakh hectares in 2025, while cotton acreage shrank from 7.20 lakh hectares to just 4.01 lakh hectares. This shift reflects farmers’ growing preference for paddy, which offers assured procurement and stable returns. In contrast, cotton has become increasingly unviable due to pest attacks, declining Bt‑cotton resistance, and mounting cultivation losses.

Farmers cite profitability as the main reason for choosing paddy. According to Mandeep Nathwan, president of farmers’ organisation Pagri Sambhal Jatta Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, paddy can generate an income of nearly Rs 80,000 per acre, leaving a profit of about Rs 50,000 even after deducting expenses.

Farmer activist Rakesh Bains from Kurukshetra echoes this view, noting that alternative crops yield only around Rs 50,000 per acre compared to paddy’s Rs 80,000, making rice the more attractive option.

Former Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) scientist Virender Lather explains that farmers have shifted from cotton, maize, jowar, pulses, and oilseeds to paddy in recent years, with cotton losing the most ground.

Bt‑cotton, once resistant to pests like the pink bollworm, has lost its effectiveness as pests have adapted over time. Farmers now spend heavily on pesticides but still face yields as low as two quintals per acre, far below the eight quintals needed for profitability. This leaves them with losses of nearly Rs 15,000 per acre.

Recognising the risks of farmers shifting to water‑intensive paddy, the Haryana government has introduced measures to promote diversification. Under the ‘Mera Pani Meri Virasat’ scheme, farmers receive Rs 8,000 per acre for cultivating less water‑consuming crops such as pulses, cotton, and maize. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini recently announced that Rs 157 crore has been distributed over 2.20 lakh acres under this scheme. Additional incentives include up to an 85 per cent subsidy for micro‑irrigation technologies, rainwater harvesting, and pond construction.

To encourage sustainable practices within rice cultivation itself, the government offers Rs 4,000 per acre for adopting Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), which uses less water than traditional transplanting. However, experts like Virender Lather argue that the incentive is too low to change farmer behaviour and even suggest banning traditional paddy cultivation to restore Haryana’s falling water table. Farmers, meanwhile, stress that better marketing and procurement facilities for alternative crops are essential if diversification is to succeed.