The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is the program that aims for making agriculture more sustainable, productive, and climate resilient. It was approved by the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change in the year 2010 and came into operation in the year 2014-15. It is under The Ministry of Agriculture.
Objectives
- Natural resources:
- Conserved by soil and moisture conservation measures
- Improve water use efficiency through proper water management
- Promote sustainable farming systems:
- Through integrated farming, crop diversification, and crop-livestock farming systems
- Improving soil health:
- Through soil health management practices based on soil fertility maps
- Developing farmer capacity:
- Through training and other capacity development programs
Major Programmes of NMSA
Rainfed Area Development (RAD)
- Rainfed Area Development (RAD) is a scheme that aims to develop and conserve natural resources and farming systems in areas that are rainfed. It was launched in 2014-15.
- Objective: Maximizing farm returns, Mitigating the effects of extreme weather events, and Improving the quality of life for farmers.
- An area-based approach is used in the RAD scheme, which integrates crops with other activities such as horticulture, livestock, and fishery.
On-Farm Water Management (OFWM)
- Develops advanced on-farm water conservation equipment and technologies with efficient harvesting and management of rainwater. Launched in 2014.
- Water helps germinate crops, grow their roots, absorb nutrients, and support other activities of crop growth.
- Soil fertility is assured so that crop water usage isn’t hindered by limitations on nutrient and physical availability.
- Thus, the OFWM practices help to conserve water and recharge the groundwater.
Soil Health Management
- Encourages sustainable practices that maintain the health of soil based on a specific location and the type of crops that could be grown in those locations.
- A Soil Health Card (SHC) is a printed report that provides information about the health of a farmer’s soil.
- Soil health indicators: The status of the soil’s health, including its pH levels, organic content, and macro and micronutrients
Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture: Monitoring, Modeling and Networking (CCSAMMN):
- It a program under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA). The program’s objectives include:
- Creating and sharing knowledge
- CCSAMMN creates and shares information and knowledge about climate change in both directions, from land and farmers to research and scientific institutions, and vice versa.
- Supporting pilot blocks
- CCSAMMN supports pilot blocks to demonstrate how rainfed technologies can be distributed.
- Coordinating with other programs
- CCSAMMN coordinates with other programs and missions, such as MGNREGS, IWMP, RKVY, NFSM, NHM, and NMAET.
- Making production sustainable
- CCSAMMN aims to make local production systems sustainable while managing climate change concerns.
NMSA Stratergies
- Implementation of sustainable paths for development
- Using energy-saving machinery
- Agri-insurance
- Credit services
- Availability of good quality crop, animal, and fish culture
- Control of pests
- Practices in agricultural sector
- Nutrient management
- Availability of Market
- Availability of Information
