National Mission on Natural Farming

Bасkgrоund:-

Natural farming is a chemical-free farming method based on locally available resources.
It promotes traditional indigenous practices, which give freedom to farmers from externally purchased inputs.
As Natural Farming does not use any synthetic chemicals, health risks and hazards are eliminated.
Food has higher nutrition density and therefore offers better health benefits.
Natural Farming aims to make farming viable and aspirational by increasing farmers’ net incomes due to cost reduction, reduced risks, similar yields, and incomes from intercropping.

Linkаges:-

The NMNF is an upscaling of the Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddati (BPKP), a sub-scheme under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
PKVY provides financial assistance to farmers who want to adopt organic farming practices and encourages them to use eco-friendly pest and soil fertility techniques.
Climate-smart agriculture is an integrated approach to managing landscapes-cropland, livestock, forests, and fisheries-that address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change.

Сurrent Sсenаriо:-

The Government of India has launched the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) as a separate and independent scheme to promote chemical-free and climate-smart agriculture.
NMNF will cover a 7.5 lakh hectare area by developing 15,000 clusters. The farmers willing to implement natural farming on their fields will be registered as cluster members; each cluster shall comprise 50 farmers or more with 50-hectare land.
Under NMNF, farmers will receive financial assistance of ₹15,000 per hectare per year for three years to create on-farm input production infrastructure.
A Web portal has also been launched to promote natural farming with information on the implementation framework, resources, implementation progress, farmer’s registration, blog, and so on.

Imрасt:-

Ensures Better Health: As Natural Farming does not use any synthetic chemicals, health risks and hazards are eliminated. Food has higher nutrition density and therefore offers better health benefits.
Increased Farmers’ Income: Natural Farming aims to make farming viable and aspirational by increasing the net incomes of farmers on account of cost reduction, reduced risks, similar yields, and incomes from intercropping.
Rejuvenates Soil Health: The most immediate impact of Natural Farming is on the biology of soil on microbes and other living organisms such as earthworms.

Content contributed by- Jeffrey V