Portal on National Mission on Natural Farming

The Union Agriculture Minister recently launched a portal on the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) for the benefit of farmers.

Important Points about The NMNF website:

• The Agriculture Ministry is in charge of its development.
• It was launched here at the National Natural Farming Mission's first steering committee meeting.
• The portal contains all of the mission's information, implementation outline, resources, implementation progress, farmer registration, blog, and other useful information for farmers.

Authorities working together:

• The officers are responsible for coordinating with state governments and central departments in order to facilitate market linkage and make it easier for farmers to sell their products.

Ministry of Jal Shakti:

• It has developed a road map to promote natural farming and has identified 75 Sahakar Ganga villages in the first phase by signing an MoU with Sahkar Bharti, and farmers have received training.
• More than 4.78 lakh hectares of additional land have been brought under natural farming in 17 states beginning in December 2021.
• Natural farming has been initiated by 7.33 lakh farmers.
• Training: Approximately 23,000 programmes for farmer sanitation and training have been organised.
• Natural farming is being practised on 1.48 lakh hectares of land along the Ganga's banks in four states.

Organic farming:

• Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer and philosopher, popularised this farming method in his 1975 book The One-Straw Revolution.

About:

• It is a farming method that avoids or limits the use of synthetically compounded fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators, genetically modified organisms, and livestock food additives.
• Crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, and green manures are all used in this system.

Features:

• Chemical Free: Natural farming is a type of agriculture that avoids the use of chemicals such as pesticides, fertilisers, growth regulators, food additives, and genetically modified organisms.
• Utilization of Alternative Systems: Natural farming employs methods such as crop rotation, the use of green manures and compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation in place of chemical-based inputs.
• Additional Practices: To increase yields in a field, natural farming systems can be supplemented with practises such as crop rotation (planting different crops sequentially), mulching (see inset), intercropping (planting different crops simultaneously in a field), and seed soaking with liquid manure.

Significance:

• Reduced reliance: The mission will aid in the promotion of natural farming in the country. Natural farming will reduce reliance on purchased inputs and help to relieve credit burdens on smallholder farmers.
• Crop Yield: Natural farming is more productive than chemical farming.
• Cost Savings: Because the inputs are produced on the farm itself, the costs would be significantly reduced.
• Income and livelihood: This approach not only reduces cultivation costs (because inputs are produced on-site), but it also results in a higher price for the produce.
• Soil Health: Unlike conventional chemical-based practises, natural farming promotes soil health by not depleting macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), micronutrients (iron, manganese, zinc, and copper), organic carbon, and the rhizosphere microbiome.
• Environment: Natural farming reduces carbon emissions while also promoting carbon sequestration. It also promotes soil respiration, the growth of beneficial organisms such as earthworms and soil enzymes, and the increase of microbial biomass.
• Water-use efficiency: Using natural farming methods results in more efficient use of soil moisture, which leads to an increase in water table levels, prevents over-extraction of groundwater, and promotes aquifer recharge.
• Food Quality: It promotes the growth of nutrient content and improves the physical characteristics of vegetables such as tomato, cabbage, and cowpea, resulting in higher market prices.

Natural Farming's Difficulties

• Yields are declining: Sikkim, India's first organic state, has seen a decline in yields over the last few years.
• Policymakers' Conviction: At the moment, policymakers are concerned about the nation's food security and are unwilling to commit to major changes in the agriculture sector.
• Chemical inputs-based industry opposition: Chemical-based farming has strong support from the multibillion-dollar agro-chemical industry, which has fought tooth and nail to keep the use of chemicals in agriculture.
• There is a lack of agreement among scientists: While scientists agree on the health and environmental benefits of natural agriculture, they disagree on the impact on crop yields.

Way Forward

• With everyone's help, the country's mission of natural farming can be realised.
• India must continue on the path of natural farming while also capitalising on emerging global opportunities.
• The villages of India have demonstrated that villages can not only bring about change, but also lead it.

Read Also: Portal on National Mission on Natural Farming