Cabinet approves Progress under National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) and coverage details (2024-25 & 2025-26)
Cabinet approval and cluster-level coverage updates for the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)
- The Union Cabinet approved NMNF on 25 November 2024 as a centrally sponsored scheme to promote chemical-free natural farming.
- NMNF identifies 527 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), 76 Agriculture Universities (AUs), 194 Local Natural Farming Institutes (LNFIs) and 18 Centres of Natural Farming Institutes (CoNFs) for training, with Community Resource Persons (CRPs) deployed for farmer handholding at the cluster level.
- NMNF reporting for 2024–25 and 2025–26 records 18,893 clusters, 2,092,657 farmers enrolled, and 1,032,116.452 hectares under natural farming, alongside training of 33,257 Krishi Sakhis/CRPs.
The Union Cabinet approved the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) on 25 November 2024 as a centrally sponsored scheme aimed at scaling chemical-free agriculture. NMNF ties natural farming to soil health improvement, ecosystem restoration, reduced input costs and climate resilience, supported by extension and training infrastructure at the cluster level. The government also shared state/UT-wise coverage indicators for 2024–25 and 2025–26 through a Rajya Sabha written reply.
What happened (Cabinet approval and coverage reporting)
The Union Cabinet approved NMNF on 25 November 2024. A Rajya Sabha written reply by the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Ramnath Thakur, provided implementation and coverage details for NMNF for 2024–25 and 2025–26, including clusters formed, farmers enrolled and land area under NMNF.
NMNF links natural farming’s ecosystem interdependence to outcomes such as improved soil health, ecosystem restoration, reduced input costs and climate resilience. UPSC framing can assess the chain: extension and training capacity (KVKs/AUs/LNFIs/CoNFs and CRPs) → adoption at the cluster level → policy outcomes (soil/ecosystem and economic benefits), while checking whether reporting goes beyond enrolment and area coverage into measurable impacts.
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