National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture

The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), which is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) seeks to address issues associated with climate change. Adaptation and mitigation strategies need to address food security, equitable access of food resources, enhancing livelihood opportunities and contributing to economic stability of the people at the end. Mission, therefore, focuses to transform Indian agriculture into a climate resilient production system through suitable adaptation and mitigation measures mainly in the domain of crops and animal husbandry. Mission interventions are judiciously embedded in research and development activities, absorption of improved technology and best practices, creation of physical and financial infrastructure and institutional framework, facilitating access to information and capacity building. While dryland agriculture will receive focused importance by way of developing suitable drought and pest resistant crop varieties with necessary institutional support, the mission would also expand its coverage to rainfed areas for integrating farming systems in farms with local agroecology and also in management of livestock and fisheries, so that the agricultural production system continues to grow in a sustainable manner on one hand and natural resources are also conserved and utilized.

NMSA as a programmatic intervention made operational from the year 2014-15 aims at making agriculture more productive, sustainable, and remunerative and climate resilient by promoting location specific integrated/composite farming systems; soil and moisture conservation measures; comprehensive soil health management; efficient water management practices and mainstreaming rainfed technologies.

1.1   NMSA has the following major components:

Rainfed Area Development :
  • Integrated Farming System (IFS) is being promoted under RAD in which activities like horticulture, livestock, fishery, agroforestry, value addition are to be taken up along with crops/cropping system.
  • SHM is aimed 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 type.

1.2  Implementing Divisions :

  • SHM component is being implemented by INM Division..
  • RAD component is being implemented by RFS Division.

The NMSA has identified key dimensions for

  • Adaptation and mitigation:
  • Improved Crop Seeds, Livestock and Fish Culture
  • Water Efficiency
  • Pest Management
  • Improved Farm Practices
  • Nutrient Management
  • Agricultural Insurance
  • Credit Support
  • Markets
  • Access to Information
  • Livelihood Diversification

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