National mission on natural farming stalled? Finance Ministry rejects Agri’s proposal for higher farmer incentive

The EFC had approved an incentive of Rs 15,000 per hectare to be provided through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to farmers who adopt natural farming, it is learnt. This was approved in the financial year 2022-23, when Narendra Singh Tomar was the Agriculture Minister. Based on the EFC approval, the Agriculture Ministry had circulated a draft Cabinet note on the NMNF last year.

However, after the NDA was voted back to power and Chouhan assumed office in June this year, the Agriculture Ministry began deliberating on hiking the proposed incentives. In July, the Agriculture Ministry circulated a revised Cabinet note.

Conveying its views to the Agriculture Ministry, the Finance Ministry said it has “no objection” to the proposal subject but “increase in norms beyond the norms apprised by the EFC is not supported”.

The NDA government has been planning to promote natural farming across the country in a big way. In her Budget speech this year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “In the next two years, 1 crore farmers across the country will be initiated into natural farming supported by certification and branding. Implementation will be through scientific institutions and willing gram panchayats. 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centres will be established.”

The Agriculture Ministry had cited this announcement as a reason in its proposal seeking a higher rate of incentives for promotion of natural farming, it is learnt. However, the Finance Ministry turned down the proposal.

It is learnt that the Agriculture Ministry plans to launch the NMNF with an outlay of about Rs 2,500 crore of which Rs 900 crore will be contributed by the states. Under the Mission, the Centre aims to bring about 7.5 lakh hectare of land under natural farming, offering incentives to farmers who adopt it.

The launch of the NMNF was one of the priority activities planned by the NDA government for its first 100 days. However, it is yet to get the Cabinet’s approval.

Natural farming also figured in the Independence Day speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi this year. “I want to express my gratitude to the lakhs of farmers in our country who have chosen the path of natural farming and have taken on the responsibility of nurturing and protecting our Mother Earth. In this year’s budget, we have also made significant provisions and introduced substantial schemes to promote and support natural farming,” he said.

The Agriculture Ministry defines natural farming as a “chemical-free” farming system that uses only inputs produced using livestock and plant resources. This is the reason the ministry wants to implement it first across districts having high fertilizer consumption.

In its second term, the Modi government had launched the Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhti (BPKP) under the umbrella scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY). The proposed NMNF is an improvement on the BPKP.

The Centre also promoted natural farming in a 5-km belt along the Ganga River under the Namami Gange scheme. Besides, several states have also taken initiatives at their level to promote natural farming. According to sources, about 22 lakh hectare area has been brought under natural farming till date and 34 lakh farmers are engaged in practicing natural farming.