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• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has come up with the guidelines for setting up of bio-input resource centres (BRC) under the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF).

Key Highlights of the Guidelines

• Financial Assistance: ?1 lakh per BRC, provided in two installments of ?50,000 each.
  • Assistance excludes costs like sheds, land rental, or permanent infrastructure.
• Purpose of BRCs: Facilitate cluster-level production and availability of natural farming bio-inputs.
  • Act as knowledge hubs for disseminating practices and solutions related to natural farming.
  • Tailor bio-inputs according to local soil, crops, and land-use patterns.
• Eligibility: BRCs must be run by entrepreneur groups already practising natural farming.
  • If unavailable, the state natural farming cell will identify and onboard farmers willing to transition.
• Affordability Focus: Inputs produced and sold must remain affordable for small and marginal farmers.
• Integration with Other Schemes: Emphasis on convergence with programmes like the Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs, National Mission on Edible Oilseeds, etc.

Significance of the BRC Guidelines under NMNF

• BRCs will locally produce and supply ready-to-use inputs.
• Will promote cluster-based collective efforts, enhancing access to markets and reducing costs.
• BRCs will help scale up natural and organic farming by ensuring quality inputs and region-specific formulations.

About National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)

• Type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS)
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare
• Launch Date: November 25, 2024
• Primary Objective: Promote nature-based, sustainable systems of farming
  • Reduce dependence on chemical inputs
• Implementation Target (Next 2 Years): To be implemented in 15,000 clusters of willing Gram Panchayats
  • Reach out to 1 crore farmers
  • Cover 7.5 lakh hectares of agricultural land

Source: DTE