National Food Security Mission (NFSM)

What is the National Food Security Mission?

National Food Security Mission (NFSM) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare aimed at raising the production and productivity of India's main food crops. NFSM works crop by crop and district by district, supplying subsidised quality seed, organising field demonstrations of improved practices, and supporting farm machinery, plant protection, soil amelioration and micronutrient use.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, NFSM covers rice, wheat, pulses, coarse cereals, nutri-cereals, oilseeds and oil palm, with a Sub-Mission on Nutri-Cereals: jowar, bajra, ragi and small millets, added from 2018-19. Following the Cabinet's rationalisation of agriculture schemes in October 2024, NFSM continues as a component of the umbrella Krishonnati Yojana, and was renamed the National Food Security and Nutrition Mission during 2024-25. The Sub-Mission on Seed and Planting Material was merged into it in the same exercise.

Key objectives

• Increase production of rice, wheat, pulses, coarse cereals and nutri-cereals through area expansion and productivity gains in identified districts.
• Restore soil fertility and productivity at the individual farm level.
• Raise farm-level income by cutting the yield gap between demonstration plots and ordinary fields.
• Reduce India's dependence on imported pulses and edible oil.

Main features

• Identified districts; NFSM interventions are targeted at chosen districts crop by crop, not spread uniformly across the country. The mission currently runs in about 638 identified districts across the states and union territories.
• Cluster demonstrations of improved production technology on farmers' fields.
• Subsidised certified and hybrid seed, capped at 2 hectares per farmer.
• Support for farm machinery, water-saving devices, plant protection, micronutrients and soil ameliorants.
• Seed Village Programme to build local seed production capacity.
• Implemented through state agriculture departments, with Krishi Vigyan Kendras and agricultural universities providing technical backing.

Who is eligible for NFSM?

You can apply if:

• You are a farmer cultivating an NFSM crop: rice, wheat, pulses, coarse cereals, nutri-cereals or oilseeds.
• Your district has been identified under NFSM for that crop in the current year's allocation.
• You have verifiable land records for the area on which you are claiming assistance.
• You hold an Aadhaar-seeded bank account, since subsidy is released through Direct Benefit Transfer.
• You are willing to follow the package of practices advised where you are included in a cluster demonstration.

Small, marginal, SC, ST and women farmers receive priority in most state allocations, and specific shares of the mission's funds are earmarked under the Scheduled Caste and Tribal sub-plans.

You cannot apply if:

• Your district is not covered under NFSM for the crop you grow. This is the most common reason an otherwise eligible farmer is turned away, since the mission is district-targeted.
• You are claiming seed subsidy for more than 2 hectares. The seed subsidy ceiling is 2 hectares per farmer, and area beyond that is not eligible.
• You are a seed dealer, input dealer or trader seeking subsidy as a business. NFSM assistance goes to cultivating farmers and to institutions implementing the mission.
• You cannot produce land records or a bank account in your own name: DBT cannot be processed against unverifiable details.
• The district allocation for the year is exhausted. NFSM assistance is limited by the physical and financial targets sanctioned to each district, so eligibility does not guarantee sanction.

What documents are required for NFSM?

How to apply for NFSM assistance

1. Confirm at the block or district agriculture office that your district is covered under NFSM for your crop in the current season, and ask what components have been sanctioned; seed, demonstration, machinery, plant protection or micronutrients.
2. Register on your state's agriculture DBT portal if your state runs one. Many states route all input subsidy through a single farmer registration, and NFSM benefits are issued against that record.
3. Submit an application for the specific component you want, with your Aadhaar number, land record, bank account details and mobile number.
4. Attach the supporting documents: land record copy, bank passbook page, and a caste certificate if you are claiming under an SC or ST earmarked component.
5. Get the application verified by the village agriculture extension officer or the Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) staff for your block.
6. Collect the subsidised seed or input from the notified distribution point against your sanction, or make the purchase and submit the bill where the component works on reimbursement.
7. Track the DBT credit to your Aadhaar-seeded bank account, and take unpaid claims back to the block agriculture office with your sanction reference.

How much benefit does NFSM provide?

NFSM assistance is component-wise, not a single lump sum. According to the mission guidelines:

• Cluster demonstrations — Rs 9,000 per hectare for a sole crop other than coarse cereals, Rs 15,000 per hectare for a cropping-system-based demonstration, and Rs 6,000 per hectare for coarse cereals.
• Rice seed: hybrids at Rs 50 per kg or 50 per cent of the cost, whichever is less; varieties less than 10 years old at Rs 10 per kg.
• Pulses seed: varieties less than 15 years old at Rs 25 per kg or 50 per cent of the cost, whichever is less.
• Seed subsidy ceiling to 2 hectares per farmer.

Rates for farm machinery, water-saving devices, plant protection chemicals, micronutrients, soil ameliorants and cropping-system training are notified in the mission's operational guidelines and are revised from time to time. Ask your district agriculture office for the current year's rate list before you purchase anything, because the sanctioned rate, not the shop price; determines what you receive.

Where does NFSM sit after the 2024 scheme rationalisation?

The Union Cabinet in October 2024 approved rationalising the Centrally Sponsored Schemes of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare into two umbrella schemes. The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) and the Krishonnati Yojana (KY), with a combined proposed expenditure of Rs 1,01,321.61 crore. NFSM sits under Krishonnati Yojana, which is the food security and self-sufficiency arm, while PM-RKVY carries the sustainable agriculture components.

For a farmer, the practical effect is administrative. The application route remains the block and district agriculture office, but the scheme name on your sanction letter may read National Food Security and Nutrition Mission or cite Krishonnati Yojana.

Common reasons NFSM applications are rejected

• District not covered under NFSM for that crop in the current year.
• Area claimed above the 2-hectare seed subsidy ceiling.
• Land record does not match the applicant's name or the area declared.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT transfer fails.
• District target exhausted for the component applied for.
• Purchase bill missing where the component is reimbursement-based.

Help and grievance redressal for NFSM

• Block agriculture office and village extension officer; first point of contact for sanction, seed distribution and demonstration selection.
• District agriculture officer for escalation and for the current year's rate list.
• Krishi Vigyan Kendra for technical advice on the package of practices.
• Kisan Call Centre: 1800-180-1551, 6 am to 10 pm, in 22 languages.
• Mission portal: nfsm.gov.in for guidelines, and agriwelfare.gov.in for department contacts.

NFSM assistance is free to apply for. No dealer or agent can charge you a fee to include your name in a demonstration cluster or a seed distribution list.