Parliament Question: Implementation of National Mission on Natural Farming

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2414 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13/03/2026 IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL MISSION ON NATURAL FARMING 2414. SHRI SUKHENDU SEKHAR RAY: SHRI BABUBHAI JESANGBHAI DESAI: Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE be pleased to state: (a) the total funds allocated and released by Government to States/UTs since the inception of the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF), State-wise, year-wise; (b) whether it is a fact that the establishment of Bio-Input Resource Centres across the country has been prioritized under the mission led by Government, if so, the number of Centres established so far; (c) the funds allocated and released for setting up the Centers, State-wise; (d) whether the Mission has contributed to reducing farmers' costs, improving soil health and promoting sustainable agriculture; and (e) if so, the key findings thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE (SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY) (a): National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) was approved by the Union Cabinet on 25.11.2024. For 2024-25 and 2025-26 State wise details of the funds released under NMNF scheme till date is given at Annexure-I. (b) & (c): Total number of Bio Resource Centres (BRCs) set up under NMNF are 6,339 since inception. The funds released by the Government to the States/Union Territories under the Mission includes the funds for setting up of BRCs. State wise list of BRCs is at Annexure- II. NMNF provides assistance @ Rs. 1 Lakh per BRC. (d) & (e) : Indian Council of Agricultural Research through All India Network on Natural Farming is carrying out research programme with 20 cooperation centres covering 16 States to develop package of practices for Natural Farming. The programme involves 11 State Agricultural Universities, 8 ICAR institutes/centres and 1 deemed to be university. The study shows that the performance of Natural Farming is highly context specific, dependent on the crop, region and perhaps at the transition stage of the soil. Soybean + maize- vegetable pea + coriander (green leaf) recorded mean system yield (Soybean equivalent) of 6475 kg/ha/yearat Bajaura (Himachal Pradesh), Almora (Uttarakhand) and Gangtok (Sikkim) under complete natural farming. Yield gain under Natural Farming was 5% over organic farming/integrated crop management. The research outcome shows measurable improvements in soil health indicators. Over 2–3 years, Natural Farming plots showed rising soil organic carbon (SOC) levels – for example, SOC increased from ~0.90% to 1.15% in Himalayan trials. Natural Farming soils had significantly higher microbial counts and diversity indices than chemical-fed soils. Richer microbial communities (e.g. more beneficial bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes) and more balanced microbial evenness under Natural Farming was observed, indicating a healthier soil ecosystem developing over time. This boost in soil biota and organic matter under Natural Farming improves nutrient cycling and soil structure, laying the foundation for sustained fertility and yield stability. Natural farming reduces the input cost of cultivation as it does not use externally purchased chemical inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, weedicides, etc. (like Urea, Di- ammonium Phosphate (DAP), carbofuran, pendimethalin etc). Natural farming inputs are produced on-farm using cow dung, cow urine, plant leaves and household ingredients, which are sourced locally from the field or from within the villages. Reducing costs incurred due to transportation and market price fluctuations is associated with chemical inputs.Annexure - I State/UT wise details of the funds released under NMNF as on 05.03.2026 F.Y. 2024-25 (Rs. In lakh) Sl. No. State/ UT Released 1 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 0.12 2 Andhra Pradesh 47.19 3 Bihar 14.69 4 Chhattisgarh 16.93 5 Goa 0.48 6 Himachal Pradesh 23.96 7 Nagaland 6.66 8 Rajasthan 33.05 9 Telangana 17.96 10 Tripura 6.12 11 Uttar Pradesh 34.63 12 Uttarakhand 11.02 Total 212.81 F.Y. 2025-26 (Rs. In lakh) Sl. No. State/ UT Released 1 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 17.36 2 Andhra Pradesh 12251.47 3 Arunachal Pradesh 831.44 4 Assam 242.18 5 Bihar 1226.68 6 Chhattisgarh 2602.13 7 Delhi 26.54 8 Goa 43.34 9 Gujarat 3640.48 10 Haryana 531.92 11 Himachal Pradesh 3578.10 12 Jammu & Kashmir 1255.63 13 Jharkhand 249.31 14 Karnataka 4377.96 15 Kerala 558.02 16 Ladakh 37.79 17 Madhya Pradesh 6323.46 18 Maharashtra 8066.01 19 Manipur 660.12 20 Meghalaya 345.96 21 Mizoram 890.35 22 Nagaland 944.19 23 Odisha 1325.25 24 Puducherry 80.67 25 Punjab 292.27 26 Rajasthan 5036.4527 Tamil Nadu 388.37 28 Telangana 1323.51 29 Tripura 913.03 30 Uttar Pradesh 7275.95 31 Uttarakhand 798.73 32 ICAR- Extension Division 1237.22 33 ICAR-NRM Division 1539.48 Total 68911.36Annexure - II State/UT wise details of Bio input Resource Centres (BRCs) set up under NMNF as on 05.03.2026 Sl. No. State/ UT BRCs Achieved (in Allocation (Rs. In number) Lakh) 1 Andaman & N Islands 1 1.00 2 Andhra Pradesh 1435 1435.00 3 Arunachal Pradesh 10 10.00 4 Assam 7 7.00 5 Bihar 264 264.00 6 Chhattisgarh 310 310.00 7 Delhi 1 1.00 8 Goa 1 1.00 9 Gujarat 378 378.00 10 Haryana 2 2.00 11 Himachal Pradesh 290 290.00 12 Jammu & Kashmir 102 102.00 13 Jharkhand 57 57.00 14 Karnataka 647 647.00 15 Kerala 37 37.00 16 Ladakh 4 4.00 17 Madhya Pradesh 719 719.00 18 Maharashtra 767 767.00 19 Manipur 54 54.00 20 Meghalaya 7 7.00 21 Mizoram 72 72.00 22 Nagaland 13 13.00 23 Odisha 322 322.00 24 Puducherry 4 4.00 25 Punjab 5 5.00 26 Rajasthan 167 167.00 27 Tamil Nadu 77 77.00 28 Telangana 315 315.00 29 Tripura 71 71.00 30 Uttar Pradesh 75 75.00 31 Uttarakhand 125 125.00 Total 6339 6339.00 *******