National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) |ForumIAS

News: The Union Cabinet recently approved the launch of the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF).

Natural Farming

The Agriculture Ministry defines natural farming as a “chemical-free” farming method that relies solely on inputs derived from livestock and plant resources.
Natural farming follows local farming principles, using regional knowledge and technologies suited to the local agro-ecosystem.
The Ministry plans to implement Natural farming across the districts with high fertiliser consumption.
There are many natural farming models worldwide, with Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) being the most popular in India. ZBNF was popularized by Subhash Palekar.

About National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)

Background

NMNF is an improved version of the Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhti (BPKP), launched under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY).
The Centre also promoted natural farming in a five-kilometre belt along the Ganga River under the Namami Gange scheme in the financial year 2022-23.
In her 2024-25 Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a plan to enroll one crore farmers in natural farming over the next two years.

About

It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
It aims to promote natural farming nationwide, targeting one crore farmers over the next two years.
This initiative will involve certification, branding, and the creation of 10,000 bio-input resource centers, to be carried out through scientific institutions and gram panchayats.

Mission Objectives

Build an ecosystem for sustainable natural farming in the country.
To establish scientifically backed standards and farmer-friendly certification procedures for chemical-free produce.
It also plans to create a single national brand for chemical-free, naturally grown products.

Coverage under natural farming

Current coverage includes 22 lakh hectares of land under natural farming, with 34 lakh farmers involved nationwide.
Target for expansion: Increase natural farming coverage by 7.5 lakh hectares.

Infrastructure and Implementation

In the next two years, NMNF will be rolled out in 15,000 willing Gram Panchayat clusters.
Preference will be given to areas having prevalence of practising NF farmers, SRLM / Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) / Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), etc.
Under NMNF, about 2,000 NF Model Demonstration Farms will be set up at Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Agricultural Universities (AUs), and farmers’ fields, supported by trained Farmer Master Trainers.
Willing farmers will be trained at Model Demonstration Farms near their villages, learning NF practices, input preparation, and more, at KVKs, AUs, and NF farmers’ fields.
10,000 bio-input resource centers will be set up to provide ready-to-use natural farming inputs.
Special focus will be given on districts where fertiliser use exceeds 200 kg/hectare.It also includes a 5 km-wide area along the main stem of the Ganga River.