Syllabus: GS3/ Environment
In News
- The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has come up with the guidelines for setting up of bio-input resource centres (BRC) under the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF).
Key Highlights of the Guidelines
- Financial Assistance: ₹1 lakh per BRC, provided in two installments of ₹50,000 each.
- Assistance excludes costs like sheds, land rental, or permanent infrastructure.
- Purpose of BRCs: Facilitate cluster-level production and availability of natural farming bio-inputs.
- Act as knowledge hubs for disseminating practices and solutions related to natural farming.
- Tailor bio-inputs according to local soil, crops, and land-use patterns.
- Eligibility: BRCs must be run by entrepreneur groups already practising natural farming.
- If unavailable, the state natural farming cell will identify and onboard farmers willing to transition.
- Affordability Focus: Inputs produced and sold must remain affordable for small and marginal farmers.
- Integration with Other Schemes: Emphasis on convergence with programmes like the Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs, National Mission on Edible Oilseeds, etc.
Significance of the BRC Guidelines under NMNF
- BRCs will locally produce and supply ready-to-use inputs.
- Will promote cluster-based collective efforts, enhancing access to markets and reducing costs.
- BRCs will help scale up natural and organic farming by ensuring quality inputs and region-specific formulations.
About National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)
- Type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS)
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare
- Launch Date: November 25, 2024
- Primary Objective: Promote nature-based, sustainable systems of farming
- Reduce dependence on chemical inputs
- Implementation Target (Next 2 Years): To be implemented in 15,000 clusters of willing Gram Panchayats
- Reach out to 1 crore farmers
- Cover 7.5 lakh hectares of agricultural land
Source: DTE
