Cabinet Meeting: Government Approves National Mission On Natural Farming Worth Rs 2,481 Crore

The Union Cabinet on Monday has approved the launch of the National Mission on Natural Farming as a standalone centrally sponsored scheme under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare. The initiative aims to promote sustainable agricultural practices and reduce dependency on chemical inputs in farming.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the scheme's details, highlighting a total financial outlay of Rs 2,481 crore. Of this, the Government of India will contribute Rs 1,584 crore, while the remaining Rs 897 crore will be borne by the states. The funding will extend up to the 15th Finance Commission period, ending in 2025-26.

Natural farming follows local agro-ecological principles rooted in local knowledge, location specific technologies and is evolved as per the local agro-ecology. "Rooted in the traditional knowledge inherited from their forefathers, farmers will practise natural farming as a chemical free farming which involves local livestock integrated natural farming methods, diversified crop systems, etc.," Vaishnaw said.

The mission aims at promoting natural farming practices for providing safe & nutritious food for all. It is designed to support farmers to reduce input cost of cultivation and dependency to externally purchased inputs. Natural farming will build & maintain healthy soil ecosystems, promote biodiversity and encourage diverse cropping systems to enhance resilience as suitable to the local agroecology are the benefits of natural farming.

According to Vaishnaw, the National Mission on Natural Farming is launched as a shift to scientifically revive and strengthen agriculture practices towards sustainability, climate resilience and healthy food for farmer families and consumers.

In the next two years, the mission will be implemented in 15,000 clusters in gram panchayats, which are willing, & reach 1 crore farmers and initiate natural farming in 7.5 lakh Ha area. Preference will be given to areas having prevalence of practising NF farmers, SRLM or PACS or FPOs, etc. "Further, need-based 10,000 bio-input resource centres will be set-up to provide easy availability and accessibility to ready-to-use natural farming inputs for farmers," the Union Minister said.

Model Demonstration Farms

Under NMNF, around 2,000 NF Model Demonstration Farms shall be established at Krishi Vigyan Kendras or KVKs, Agricultural Universities or AUs and farmers' fields, and shall be supported by experienced and trained Farmer Master Trainers.

The willing farmers will be trained in Model Demonstration Farms on the NF package of practices, preparation of NF inputs, etc. near their villages in KVKs, AUs and practising NF farmers' fields. 18.75 lakh trained willing farmers will prepare inputs like Jeevamrit, Beejamrit, etc. by using their livestock or procure from BRCs. 30,000 Krishi Sakhis/ CRPs will be deployed for awareness generation, mobilisation and handholding of willing farmers in the clusters, the Union Minister further said.

Natural farming practices will help farmers to reduce input cost of cultivation and dependency on externally purchased inputs while rejuvenating soil health, fertility & quality and building resilience to climate risks like waterlogging, flood, drought, etc.

These practices also reduce health risks from exposure to fertilisers, pesticides, etc. and provide healthy & nutritious food for the farmers' family. Further, through natural farming, a healthy mother earth is bequeathed to the future generations. Through improvement of soil carbon content & water use efficiency, there is an increase in soil microorganisms and biodiversity in natural farming.

Farmers will be provided with an easy simple certification system and dedicated common branding to provide access to market their natural farming produce. Real time geo-tagged & referenced monitoring of NMNF implementation shall be done through an online portal.

Convergence with existing schemes and support structures of government of India or state governments or national & international organisations shall be explored for enhancing local livestock population, development of NF model demonstration farms at Central cattle breeding farms or regional fodder stations, provide market linkages at district or block or GP levels through convergence for local farmers' markets, APMC mandis, haats, depots, etc. Additionally, students will be engaged in NMNF through the RAWE program and dedicated Undergraduate, Postgraduate & Diploma courses on NF.