Context

• Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has released a total of 2900 varieties during last 10 years (2014-2024), out of which, 2661 varieties are tolerant to one or more biotic and/or abiotic stresses under National Mission On Sustainable Agriculture 

About NMSA

• National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is an initiative under India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change aimed at promoting climate-resilient and sustainable farming practices.
• The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) was launched in 2014-15.
• This scheme majorly focused on integrating farming, water use efficiency, soil health management, and resource conservation to enhance agricultural productivity, especially in areas where irrigation is less than or equal to 30% of the total area used for cultivation.
• NMSA aims to improve agricultural productivity while promoting sustainability and environmental conservation.
• NMSA derives its mandate from Sustainable Agriculture Mission which is one of the eight Missions outlined under National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

Objective of NMSA

• To promote agricultural practices that enhance productivity while being sustainable.
• To make agriculture adaptive to climatic variations and extreme weather conditions.
• To encourage location-specific integrated and composite farming systems.
• To improve soil health, conserve moisture, and promote efficient water management practices.
• To strengthen rainfed agriculture through appropriate technologies and systems.
• Improved crop seeds, livestock and fish cultures’, ‘Water Use Efficiency’, ‘Pest Management’, ‘Improved Farm Practices’, ‘Nutrient Management’, ‘Agricultural insurance’, ‘Credit support’, ‘Markets’, ‘Access to Information’ and ‘Livelihood diversification’ are major objective of the mission.

Structure of the Mission

• Rainfed Area Development (RAD) will adopt an area based approach for development and conservation of natural resources along with farming systems. This component has been formulated in a ‘watershed plus framework’, i.e., to explore potential utilization of natural resources base/assets available/created through watershed development and soil conservation activities / interventions under MGNREGS, NWDPRA, RVP&FPR, RKVY, IWMP etc.
• Soil Health Management (SHM) will aim at promoting location as well as crop specific sustainable soil health management including residue management, organic farming practices by way of creating and linking soil fertility maps with macro-micro nutrient management, appropriate land use based on land capability, judicious application of fertilizers and minimizing the soil erosion/degradation.
• Sub-Mission on Agroforestry has been launched in 2016-17 to encourage tree plantation on farm land “Har Medh Par Ped”, along with crops/ cropping system. The scheme is being implemented in the States which have liberalized transit regulations for selected tree species.

Benefits of the Mission

• Integrated farming and water management techniques to boost overall farm productivity.
• Helps farmers in managing risks from extreme weather events like droughts or floods.
• Provides income opportunities through activities that are related to agriculture but are not traditional crop cultivation.
• Promotes efficient and effective use of water, soil, and fertilizers, reducing wastage and ensuring long-term agricultural sustainability.
• Initiatives like the Soil Health Card Scheme empower farmers with actionable insights to optimize agricultural practices.

Achievements of the Mission

• Water conservation and micro-irrigation techniques have significantly reduced water wastage while increasing productivity.
• Integrated farming systems have created diversified income sources, mitigating risks associated with monoculture.
• The Soil Health Card Scheme has helped many farmers related to balanced fertilizer usage, improving crop yields and soil fertility.

Conclusion

• NMSA will cater to key dimensions of ‘Water use efficiency’, ‘Nutrient Management’ and ‘Livelihood diversification’ through adoption of a sustainable development pathway by progressively shifting to environmental friendly technologies, adoption of energy efficient equipment, conservation of natural resources, integrated farming.
• Besides, NMSA aims at promoting location specific improved agronomic practices through soil health management, enhanced water use efficiency, judicious use of chemicals, crop diversification, progressive adoption of crop-livestock farming systems and integrated approaches like crop-sericulture, agro-forestry, fish farming, etc.