1.

INTRODUCTION:

Sustaining agricultural productivity depends on quality and availability of natural resources like soil
and water. Agricultural growth can be sustained by promoting conservation and sustainable use of
these scarce natural resources through appropriate location specific measures. Indian agriculture
remains predominantly rainfed covering about 60% of the country’s net sown area and accounts for
40% of the total food production. Thus, conservation of natural resources in conjunction with
development of rainfed agriculture holds the key to meet burgeoning demands for foodgrain in the
country. Towards this end, National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) has been
formulated for enhancing agricultural productivity especially in rainfed areas focusing on integrated
farming, water use efficiency, soil health management and synergizing resource 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).

NMSA will cater to key dimensions of ‘Water use efficiency’, ‘Nutrient Management’ and
‘Livelihood diversification’ through adoption of sustainable development pathway by progressively
shifting to environmental friendly technologies, adoption of energy efficient equipments,
conservation of natural resources, integrated farming, etc. 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.

2. MISSION OBJECTIVES:

NMSA will have following objectives:

1. To make agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative and climate resilient by

promoting location speci c Integrated/Composite Farming Systems;

2. To conserve natural resources through appropriate soil and moisture conservation measures;

3. To adopt comprehensive soil health management practices based on soil fertility maps, soil test
based application of macro & micro nutrients, judicious use of fertilizers etc.;

4. To optimize utilization of water resources through ef cient water management to expand

coverage for achieving ‘more crop per drop’;

5. To develop capacity of farmers & stakeholders, in conjunction with other ongoing Missions e.g.
National Mission on Agriculture Extension & Technology, National Food Security Mission,
National Initiative for Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) etc., in the domain of climate
change adaptation and mitigation measures;

6. To pilot models in select blocks for improving productivity of rainfed farming by

mainstreaming rainfed technologies re ned through NICRA and by leveraging resources from
other schemes/Missions like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), RKVY etc.; and
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 7. To establish an effective inter and intra Departmental/Ministerial co-ordination for
accomplishing key deliverables of National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture under the aegis
of NAPCC.

3. INTERVENTIONS OF NATIONAL MISSION FOR SUSTAINABLE

AGRICULTURE:

1. Rainfed Area Development (RAD): 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.. This
component will introduce appropriate farming systems by integrating multiple components of
agriculture such as crops, horticulture, livestock, shery, forestry with agro based income
generating activities and value addition.

2. On Farm Water Management (OFWM): OFWM will focus primarily on enhancing water use
ef ciency by promoting ef cient on-farm water management technologies and equipment. This
will not only focus on application ef ciency but, in conjunction with RAD component, also will
emphasize on effective harvesting & management of rainwater. Assistance will be extended for
adopting water conservation technologies, ef cient delivery and distribution systems etc.
Emphasis will also be given to manage and equitably distribute the resources of commons by
involving the water users associations, etc..

3. Soil Health Management (SHM): SHM will aim at promoting location as well as crop speci c
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. Assistance will be provided for various improved
package of practices based on land use and soil characteristics, generated through geographical
information system (GIS) based thematic maps and database on land and soil characteristics
through extensive eld level scienti c surveys. Besides, this component will also provide
support to reclamation of problem soils (acid/alkaline/saline). This component will be
implemented by State Govt., National Centre of Organic Farming (NCOF), Central Fertilizer
Quality Control & Training Institute (CFQC&TI) and Soil and Land Use Survey of India
(SLUSI). Given the limitations, such as staff and infrastructure, faced by the department of
agriculture at the eld level, a Public Private Partnership Model may be adopted by states
depending upon the private partner’s strength in the eld to ensure that the soil testing is done
in time and in the numbers required.

4. Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture: Monitoring, Modeling and Networking

(CCSAMMN): CCSAMMN will provide creation and bidirectional (land/farmers to research/
scienti c establishments and vice versa) dissemination of climate change related information
and knowledge by way of piloting climate change adaptation/mitigation research/model
projects in the domain of climate smart sustainable management practices and integrated
farming system suitable to local agro-climatic conditions. The dedicated expert teams of
technical personnel will be institutionalised within NMSA to rigorously monitor and evaluate
the mission activities thrice in a year and will inform the National Committee. Comprehensive
pilot blocks will be supported to illustrate functional mechanism for dissemination of rainfed
technologies, planning, convergence and coordination with agship schemes/Missions like
MGNREGS, IWMP, Accelerated Irrigation Bene t Programme (AIBP), RKVY, NFSM, MIDH,
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 NMAET etc. Such an integrated action of input and output ows across agriculture, livestock
and other production systems will harness the growth potential of the rainfed production
systems, imparting sustainability of local production systems while negotiating climate change
risks. A consortium approach will be evolved with various stake holders including knowledge
partners like State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Indian
Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Institutes etc. by the State Government to provide
single window service/knowledge provider system for the bene t of farming community.

4. STRUCTURE OF NATIONAL MISSION FOR SUSTAINABLE

AGRICULTURE:

National Mission For Sustainable Agriculture Will Have Following Three Tier Structure For
Planning, Implementation And Monitoring Of Various Components:

1. National Level Architecture:

1.1 National Advisory Committee (NAC): A National Advisory Committee(NAC) under

Chairmanship of Secretary (A&C) with the following members will be constituted to
provide strategic direction for guidance and planning for effective implementation of the
mission.

1.2 Project Sanctioning Committee (PSC): A Project Sanctioning Committee (PSC)

chaired by Mission Director, NMSA with representation from Indian Council of Agriculture
Research (ICAR), Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry Water Resources
(MoWR), Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF),
Dept. of Animal Husbandry, Dairy & Fisheries (DAHD&F), INM & NHM Divisions of
DAC, NCPAH and other restructured Missions will prioritize and approve projects under
NMSA. PSC will be serviced by Natural Resource Management (NRM) and Rainfed
Farming System (RFS) Divisions of DAC. The proposals for reclamation of problem soils
may be made under RAD components. Proposals of SHM components being demand based,
would be scrutinized and approved by INM Division of DAC.

1.3 Standing Technical Committee (STC): The programme implementation will be

strongly supported by technical backstopping through well-structured and institutionalised
feedback from scienti c institutions for regular corrections. The expert institutions in the
eld of climate change research and natural resources management such as CRIDA will be
made the Main Knowledge Partner for this purpose and will coordinate the activities of
Technical Committees. The scienti c committee will have the ability and be provided
adequate space within the NMSA to make their own assessment. Standing Technical
Committee (STC) will be set up at the National level to provide time to time knowledge
support and technical feed back to the Project Sanctioning Committee and National
Advisory Committee of NMSA to decide the policy content or change in any component if
required.

1.4 Climate Change Cell (CCC): of DAC along with Soil & Land Use Survey of India
(SLUSI) will serve as knowledge networking centre for facilitating collaborative and
interactive processes among stakeholders.

1.5 State Level Architecture: At State level, State Level Committee (SLC) chaired by
Agriculture Production Commissioner(APC)/Principal Secretary/Secretary (Agriculture/
Horticulture) with representation from concerned line Departments like Revenue, Animal
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 Husbandry, Fisheries, Forests etc., CEO of SLNA, SAUs and ICAR Centers will oversee
planning and implementation of the Mission. Present NMMI Committee may be noti ed by
the State Government as the NMSA State Level Committee with following changes. The
committee may be strengthened with additional members from concerned line departments;
to be chaired by APC and in case institution of APC does not exist, senior most Pr.
Secretary/Secretary either from Agriculture or Horticulture may be nominated by Chief
Secretary of the State as the Chairman. Director (Agriculture) will be Member Secretary and
Director (Horticulture) will be Co-Member Secretary of the Committee. Once the SLC for
NMSA is noti ed, the State level Committee of NMMI will stand dissolved. Further, States
will have freedom to nominate other nodal Department or Agency or create an autonomous
State Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (SMSA) for this purpose. State may setup State
Standing Technical Committee (SSTC) to function as arms of central STC and to provide
technical advisory to State Mission. State Agricultural University will be the main
knowledge partner of SSTC. Three to four Technical Experts drawn from local ICAR
Centres/ SAUs/other professional agencies in this eld with additional responsibility or, full
time engagement as State Consultants on contract basis will be placed as Technical Support
Group at State level to assist SSTC. The duties/responsibilities, quali cation and
honorarium for engagement of State Consultants will be made as per the speci cations given
at Appendix-V and V(A). SSTC will suggest modalities for sustainable agriculture practices
based on R&D experiences and local requirements to formulate Mission Implementation
Plan. SSTC will meet at least once in three months and submit its report to the STC on the
implementation of NMSA alongwith technical inputs.

1.6 District Level Architecture: District Mission Committee (DMC) will be entrusted with
project formulation, implementation and monitoring of NMSA. DMC may be headed by
Collector or CEO of Zilla Parishad /District Council with representatives from concerned
line Departments including animal husbandry, horticulture, shery, rural development, forest
etc. and ATMA, KVK, Growers’ Associations, Marketing Boards, Banks, Non-Government
Organizations etc., Dy. Director (Agriculture) will be the Member Secretary of the District
Mission Committee. A dedicated subject expert/consultant on sustainable agriculture will be
engaged each for 2 to 3 adjoining districts depending on the number of clusters taken up to
look after the projects, give technical advice and assist in monitoring. These consultants to
be engaged on contract basis and there remuneration is admissible from Mission. They will
also assist the State Level Standing Technical Committee in preparation of Mission
Implementation Plan, Annual Action Plan and technical supervision to the Mission. Their
performance need to be linked to the periodic achievements of the objectives of the mission
in deciding their continuation and payment. The duties/responsibilities, quali cation and
honorarium for engagement of these Consultants will be made as per the speci cations
given at Appendix-V and V(A).

5. PLANNING & IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL MISSION FOR SUSTAINABLE

AGRICULTURE:

NMSA has four major programme components e.g. ‘Rainfed Area Development’, ‘Soil Health
Management’, ‘On Farm Water Management’ and ‘Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture
Modeling and Networking’. An illustrative approach for component speci c planning is outlined
below:

1. Rainfed Area Development (RAD)

1.1 RAD aims at promoting integrated farming system(IFS) with emphasis on multi-
cropping, rotational cropping, inter-cropping, mixed-cropping practices with allied activities
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 like horticulture, livestock, shery, agroforestry, apiculture, conservation/promotion of
NTFPs etc. to enable farmers not only in maximizing the farm returns for sustaining
livelihood, but also to mitigate the impacts of drought, ood or other extreme weather
events;

1.2 Depending on the type and extent of natural resources/assets/ commodities already
developed or supported, location-speci c crops, fruits, vegetables, spices, owers, feed &
fodder, livestock, sheries, apiculture, mushroom, medicinal & aromatic plantation and
related income generating activities would be supported. Activities like construction of
ponds, land treatment, wells, supply of pumps, microirrigation/other water saving devices,
seed and sapling support etc. would be converged/supplemented to promote value addition
through a sustainable farming system;

1.3 Adoption of a cluster approach in a village or an area of not less than 100 Ha
(contiguous or non-contiguous in dif cult terrain with close proximity, in a village/adjoining
villages) may be preferred for injecting investments to utilize the potential of available/
created common resources;

1.4 Selected clusters will have soil analysis/soil health card as mandatory and at least 25%
of the farming system area will have to be covered under On Farm Water Management.

2. Soil Health Management (SHM):

Soil Health Management (SHM) is one of the most important intervention: SHM will aim at
promoting location as well as crop speci c 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. Assistance will be
provided for various improved package of practices based on land use and soil
characteristics, generated through geographical information system (GIS) based thematic
maps and database on land and soil characteristics through extensive eld level scienti c
surveys. This component will be implemented by State Govt., National Centre of Organic
Farming (NCOF), Central Fertilizer Quality Control & Training Institute (CFQC&TI) and
sanctioned by INM division. Besides, this component will also provide support to
reclamation of problem soils (acid/ alkaline/saline) and promote appropriate land uses
through State Governments, Soil and Land Use Survey of India (SLUSI)/NRM Division. It
will have following approach for component speci c planning.

2.1 On Farm Water Management (OFWM):

1. OFWM will focus on enhancing water use ef ciency by promoting appropriate

technological interventions like drip & sprinkler technologies, ef cient water
application & distribution system, secondary storage and drainage development.

2. The unit cost of Drip Irrigation system varies with respect to plant spacing and location
of the water source. The normative cost has been laid down for various Micro Irrigation
systems for the purpose of calculating nancial assistance. Twenty ve (25%) higher
cost, over & above the normative cost for all the systems has been xed for North
Eastern & Himalayan states for the purpose of calculating nancial assistance.

3. Location and crop speci c technologically appropriate irrigation systems will be

propagated ensuring least cost burden to the farmers/ bene ciaries;
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 4. It may be ensured that atleast 25% of the micro irrigation fund allocated to the State is
used for crop sector.

3. Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture: Monitoring, Modeling and Networking

(CCSAMMN):

State will notify the pilot blocks in advance. Pilot block will be selected on the basis of
following parameters:

(a) Blocks having least irrigated area i.e., primarily rainfed agriculture is being practiced in the
block
(b) Preponderance of SC & ST farmers in the block
(c) Lower crop productivity compared to State’s average
(d) Any other parameters based on State speci c issues to prioritize its adoption

4. Mission Implementation Plan (MIP):

States will prepare Mission Implementation Plan (MIP) indicating action plan and strategies
for sustainable agriculture development with a horizon of 5-7 years which will emanate
from District Agriculture Plans (DAPs) and State Agriculture Plan (SAP) prioritizing the
interventions from climate change point of view. Perspective plan should also consider the
agriculture sector recommendations made in the State Action Plan on Climate Change
(SAPCC) if prepared by the State along with SAP to address climatic factors.

5. Project submission and approval:

AAP with Separate proposals for each component as stated in Para 6.3 and duly approved by
SLC needs to be submitted to Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of
Agriculture, Government of India, latest by March end, for examination, deliberation and
nal approval. Format for submission of Annual Action Plan to DAC is at Appendix-II A.
Concerned technical Divisions in DAC will examine AAP before it is placed before the PSC
for consideration, sanction and approving release of funds to States.

6. Programme Implementation:

State Department of Agriculture will have the overall responsibility for implementing
NMSA in a mission mode at State level. State Governments may engage/nominate any other
Department/Agency as nodal for implementing NMSA at district level. Panchayati Raj
Institutions (PRIs) should be actively involved in planning and implementation of NMSA.
The role and functions of different Institutions at National, State, District and various levels
of Panchayati Raj Institutions will be communicated separately. District Agriculture
Contingency Plans and NICRA ndings of ICAR need be taken into consideration while
identifying location speci c interventions. ICAR Institutions, State Agricultural Universities
(SAU), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK), ATMAs and reputed NGOs may be consulted for
identifying appropriate technology, farm practices and technical backstopping. A cluster
based approach may be adopted for selecting package of interventions. While choosing
cluster, preference may be given to those where natural resource base including water
resources have already been developed under various developmental and watershed
development programmes namely; National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed
Areas(NWDPRA), Soil Conservation in the Catchments of River Valley & Flood Prone
Rivers (RVP&FPR), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), Integrated Watershed Management
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 Programme (IWMP) etc. Over the next ve years, efforts for direct transfer of subsidy to the
farmers/bene ciary will be made based on ADHAR No. and available infrastructure in the
districts where it is functional. The amount will be transferred only after ensuring the proof
of procurement of equipments/inputs made by the farmer as per provisions and norms
prescribed in the guidelines. State Government will ensure that atleast 50% of bene ciaries
belong to small and marginal farmer category.
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