PIB Summary- 3rd April, 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

National Mission on Natural Farming

Why in News?
The Government of India has launched the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) as a separate and independent scheme to promote chemical-free and climate-smart agriculture.

National Mission on Natural Farming

• The NMNF is a national initiative aimed at promoting natural farming across India, based on the Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP).
• The mission will cover 7.5 lakh hectares of land, developed into 15,000 clusters, each consisting of 50 or more farmers with at least 50 hectares of land.
• The clusters may be situated within one village or spread across 2-3 nearby villages under the same gram panchayat.
• Participating farmers will receive a financial assistance of ₹15,000 per hectare per year for three years to develop on-farm input production infrastructure, but only if they commit to natural farming and continue with it.
• A web portal has been launched to monitor the implementation progress and provide information on the framework, resources, farmer registration, and blog.
• The agriculture ministry is training master trainers, champion farmers, and practicing farmers in natural farming techniques through the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) and National Centre of Organic and Natural Farming (NCONF).
• The Centre aims to establish 15,000 Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-inputs Resources Centres (BRCs) to provide easy access to bio-resources like cow dung and urine, neem, and bioculture. These BRCs will be set up alongside the proposed 15,000 model clusters of natural farming.

Natural Farming

• Natural farming is a chemical-free farming method based on locally available resources.
• It promotes traditional indigenous practices that eliminate external inputs, such as on-farm biomass recycling, desi cow dung-urine formulation, and on-farm botanical concoctions to manage pests.
• The aim is to make farming aspirational by increasing net incomes of farmers and rejuvenating soil health.

Significance of Natural Farming

• Eliminates health risks and hazards associated with synthetic chemicals in agriculture, leading to higher nutrition density in food and better health benefits.
• Increases farmers’ income by reducing costs, reducing risks, and providing opportunities for intercropping.
• Improves soil health and increases productivity by enhancing the biology of soil, including microbes and living organisms such as earthworms. Issues with Natural Farming:
• Only 52% of India’s Gross Cropped Area (GCA) is irrigated, limiting farmers’ ability to plant more crops.
• Lack of readily available natural inputs can be a barrier for farmers to adopt chemical-free agriculture.
• Skewed Minimum Support Prices in favour of cereals lead to a lack of crop diversification in agriculture.

About the Jal Jeevan Mission

Why in News?
The Prime Minister has complimented the Chief Minister and his team as Arunachal Pradesh crosses 75% coverage under Jal Jeevan Mission providing drinking water to 1.73 lakh rural households.

About Jal Jeevan Mission

• Jal Jeevan Mission, a central government initiative under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, aims to ensure access of piped water for every household in India.
• National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) was restructured and subsumed into Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – to provide Functional Household Tap Water (FHTC) to every rural household with service level at the rate of 55 lpcd i.e., Har Ghar Nal Se Jal (HGNSJ) by 2024.

Implications 

• Supply of water to all households is a basic necessity
• Reduction in water borne diseases which was due to due to consumption of substandard water

Challenges

• Critical situation of Decrease in ground water table.
• Water demand and supply is a miss match
• Contamination of local ground level sources of water like, ponds lakes and wells.
• Sustaining the provision of water to all households is a challenge, not just starting it.