Lok Sabha Question No. 3157 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-08
Subject: Sustainable Farming
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Pallab Lochan Das

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3157

TO BE ANSWERED ON 8 th  AUGUST, 2023

## SUSTAINABLE FARMING

## 3157. SHRI PALLAB LOCHAN DAS:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष और िकसान कʞाण मंũी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any initiative have been undertaken/ proposed to be taken by the Government to restore and promote sustainable farming in the country; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष और िकसान कʞाण मंũी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) & (b): To restore and  promote  sustainable farming in the country, Government  is implementing National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) which is one of the National Missions under National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The Mission aims to evolve and implement strategies to make Indian agriculture more resilient to the changing climate. NMSA was approved for three major components i.e. Rainfed Area Development (RAD); On Farm Water Management (OFWM); and Soil Health Management (SHM). Subsequently, new programmes  such  as  namely  Soil  Health  Card  (SHC),  Paramparagat  Krishi  Vikas  Yojana (PKVY), Mission Organic Value Chain Development in North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER), Per Drop More Crop, National Bamboo Mission (NBM) etc. were also included.

Under NMSA, Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme promotes water use efficiency at the farm level through Micro Irrigation technologies i.e. drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. Till date an area of 78.48 lakh hectare has been covered under Micro irrigation through the PDMC scheme  from  the  year  2015-16.  Rainfed  Area  Development  (RAD)  scheme  is  being implemented as a component under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) from 2014-15  in  the  country.  RAD  focuses  on  Integrated  Farming  System  (IFS)  for  enhancing productivity and minimizing risks associated with climatic variability. Till date an area of 7.11 lakh hectares has been covered under RAD programme from the year 2014-15. Soil Health Card  (SHC)  /  Soil  Health  Management  (SHM)  scheme  is  operational  through  the  State Governments  under  National  Project  on  Management  of  Soil  Health  &  Fertility.  Now,  this scheme has been merged as Soil Health Component of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) from  the  year  2022-23.  The  main  objective  of  the  scheme  is  to  assist  states  in  promoting

Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) through judicious use of chemical fertilizers including secondary  and  micro  nutrients  in  conjunction  with  organic  manures  &  bio-fertilizers  for improving soil health and its productivity. Soil Health Card provides information to farmers on soil nutrient status of their soil and recommendation on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility. So far 22.71 crore grid based soil health cards have  been  distributed  to  farmers  under  the  scheme.  For  promoting  organic  farming,  under Mission Organic Value Chain Development in North East Region (MOVCDNER), 379 Farmer Producer Companies have been formed comprising of 1.89 lakh farmers and covering an area of 1.73 lakh ha. The restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM) was launched during 201819  as  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  (CSS).  During  the  year  2022-23  the  NBM  has  been merged with Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) scheme. MIDH is being implemented in which an area of 11.26 lakh ha have been covered. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) was initiated to promote organic farming in the country and so far 11.80 lakh ha area has been covered. Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  (ICAR)  under  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Farmers Welfare,  Government  of  India  has  launched  a  flagship  network  project  namely  National Innovations  in  Climate  Resilient  Agriculture  (NICRA)to  promote  climate  resilient  agricultural practices. The achievements of ICAR in the field of research on climate resilient agriculture include the following; i.In total, 1888 climate resilient crop varieties including 891 of cereals, 319 of oilseeds, 338 of pulses, 103 of forage crops, 182 of fibre crops, 45 of sugar crops, and 10 of other crops have been developed. ii.Participatory  technology  development  of  climate  resilient  practices  has  been  undertaken involving farmers in risk assessment, demonstration and adaptation techniques in 151 clusters covering 454 villages, with a footprint of 2.13 lakh households, on 2.36 lakh hectares of land. iii.68 climate resilient technologies have been demonstrated in 454 villages on 15857 farmers' fields during 2014-23. iv.88  biocontrol  agents,  31  biopesticides  and  41  Biofertilizers  have  been  documented  and circulated.  Also  District Agriculture  Contingency Plans (DACPs) for 650 Districts have been developed. v.To  protect  the  farmers  from  abnormal  weather  conditions  ICAR  in  collaboration  with  India Meteorological Department (IMD) is issuing Agromet advisories twice a week (Tuesday and

- Friday) to around 6 crore farmers of the country through Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva program.

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