Centre Targets 3.25 Million Hectares for Chemical-Free Farming by FY31
India's Centre plans to significantly expand chemical-free natural farming to 3.25 million hectares by FY31, aiming to cover about 1.8% of total agricultural land. This initiative, under the National Mission on Natural Farming, involves creating 65,000 clusters and earmarking ₹750 crore for FY27 to bring 650,000 additional hectares under cultivation. The strategy focuses on enhancing sustainable agriculture, reducing farmer input costs, improving incomes, and restoring soil health, despite potential initial yield reductions.
The Indian Centre is proposing an ambitious plan to bring 3.25 million hectares under chemical-free natural farming by FY31, representing a substantial scale-up from the current 880,000 hectares. This target would cover approximately 1.8% of India's total agricultural land. The initiative, part of the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) announced in the Union budget 2023–24, involves drafting a proposal to establish 65,000 clusters, each spanning 50 hectares, to promote sustainable agriculture. For FY27 alone, a ₹750 crore outlay is planned to add 650,000 hectares, alongside setting up 5,000 bio-input resource centres, training 26,000 community resource persons, and creating 2,858 demonstration farms to facilitate adoption. The primary drivers for this shift are to improve farm incomes by drastically reducing input costs, as natural farming inputs are nearly free, and to restore soil health degraded by heavy chemical use. Experts like Ashwin Bhadri highlight that reduced input costs protect net income, and certified natural produce can fetch 20-40% higher prices, though yields might initially fall by 15-30% during transition. The program also aims to foster integrated crop–livestock systems and strengthen agro-ecological research through ICAR institutions and KVKs. However, Umendra Dutt cautions that achieving this scale necessitates an overhaul of the entire agricultural institutional framework, emphasizing collaboration among farmers, activists, and scientists.
