National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)

Agriculture is at epicentre of the country’s journey towards Atma Nirbharta (Self-reliance) with farmers at its core. The efforts of our government have consistently focused upon upliftment, empowerment and stability of farmers in the technical, economic and social realm. It is in this endeavour that we continuously explore various methods to achieve ecologically sustainable and economically viable methods. Natural farming is one such method that holds potential to realise all these goals. It is backed by our rich traditional knowledge, and is a practice of agriculture based on locally available resources, which makes it a sustainable and viable practice.

Natural Farming is a way of chemical free farming based on desi cow and locally available resources, with no chemical fertilizers and pesticides and promotes traditional indigenous practices which give freedom to farmers from externally purchased inputs and is largely based on on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching, use of on-farm desi cow dung-urine formulation; managing pests through diversity, on-farm botanical concoctions and exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs directly or indirectly and emphasis is given on improving natural nutrient cycling and increase in organic matter in the soil, which can help with climate change resilience and carbon sequestration in soils.

Climate smart agriculture is a broader concept which includes all environments friendly agricultural approaches like integrated farming systems, conservation agriculture, natural farming, organic farming, precision agriculture, regenerative agriculture, reclamation of degraded soils and reduced food loss and waste to achieve sustainable agriculture. 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. It aims to tackle three main objectives: sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes, adapting and building resilience to climate change and reducing greenhouses gas emissions wherever possible and supports FAO strategic framework 2022-2031.

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