National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)

What is the National Mission on Natural Farming?

National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) is a standalone Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, approved by the Union Cabinet in November 2024. NMNF promotes chemical-free farming built on on-farm resources: cow-based inputs, biomass mulching and local seed, in place of purchased synthetic fertiliser and pesticide.

According to the mission documents, NMNF carries a total outlay of Rs 2,481 crore till the 15th Finance Commission period, made up of a Government of India share of Rs 1,584 crore and a state share of Rs 897 crore. The mission aims to reach 1 crore farmers, cover 7.5 lakh hectares and establish 15,000 clusters in willing Gram Panchayats.

Key objectives

• Reduce the cost of cultivation by replacing purchased chemical inputs with on-farm preparations.
• Restore soil health, soil organic carbon and the biological life of the soil.
• Reduce the health risk to farmers and farm workers from chemical exposure.
• Build a credible certification and branding route so that natural farming produce is recognised in the market.

Main features

• Rs 15,000 per hectare per year for three years to farmers for creating on-farm input production infrastructure, paid through Direct Benefit Transfer.
• 15,000 clusters in willing Gram Panchayats as the unit of implementation.
• 10,000 need-based Bio-input Resource Centres (BRCs) to make ready-to-use natural farming inputs available locally.
• Model Demonstration Farms at Krishi Vigyan Kendras, agricultural universities and farmers' fields for hands-on learning.
• Krishi Sakhis, trained community resource persons who mobilise and support farmers in the cluster.
• A simple certification and common branding framework for natural farming produce.

According to Ministry of Agriculture updates reported in 2025, scheme guidelines were issued on 26 December 2024, annual action plans of 33 states and union territories were approved, and around 70,021 Krishi Sakhis had been trained in natural farming practices by March 2025. Enrolment and cluster formation were under way across states during 2024-25 and 2025-26, with Bio-input Resource Centres being identified and made operational in phases.

Who is eligible for the National Mission on Natural Farming?

You can apply if:

• You are a farmer in a Gram Panchayat selected as an NMNF cluster. The mission is implemented cluster-wise in willing panchayats.
• You cultivate land that can be verified through khasra, khatauni or the equivalent state land record, since the incentive is paid per hectare.
• You are willing to commit to natural farming on the registered area and stop synthetic fertiliser and pesticide use on it.
• You hold an Aadhaar-seeded bank account to receive the incentive by DBT.
• You are ready to attend training and to set up on-farm input preparation.

You cannot apply if:

• Your Gram Panchayat has not been taken up as an NMNF cluster. There is no individual route outside the cluster, so meeting every other condition does not help until your panchayat is covered.
• You want the incentive but intend to continue chemical inputs on the registered plot. The mission explicitly withholds later instalments where the farmer does not actually practise natural farming.
• You are a chemical fertiliser or pesticide dealer or manufacturer seeking support under this mission.
• You are seeking a personal grant unconnected to cultivation. NMNF pays a per-hectare incentive for input infrastructure, not a general cash benefit.

What documents are required for NMNF?

How to apply for the National Mission on Natural Farming

1. Find out whether your Gram Panchayat has been selected as an NMNF cluster. Ask at the block agriculture office, the Krishi Vigyan Kendra or your Krishi Sakhi.
2. Contact the Krishi Sakhi or cluster in-charge for your panchayat. In most states this community resource person handles farmer mobilisation and enrolment.
3. Open the mission portal naturalfarming.dac.gov.in and use the farmer registration option, or ask the cluster in-charge or block office to complete the portal entry on your behalf.
4. Enter your personal details, Aadhaar number, mobile number and bank account details, and verify with the OTP sent to your mobile.
5. Declare the survey or khasra number and the area in hectares that you are putting under natural farming, and attach the land record.
6. Record your commitment to practise natural farming on that area for the period of assistance.
7. Attend the training arranged through the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Model Demonstration Farm or Bio-input Resource Centre in your cluster.
8. Once your enrolment is verified at the cluster level, the Rs 15,000 per hectare annual instalment is released to your Aadhaar-seeded bank account, and continues for up to three years subject to verification that natural farming is actually being practised.

How much benefit does NMNF provide?

NMNF pays Rs 15,000 per hectare per year for three years to a participating farmer, meant for creating on-farm input production infrastructure — the equipment, storage and preparation capacity needed to make natural farming inputs on the farm instead of buying them.

The incentive is conditional and staged. Mission guidelines state plainly that the assistance is given only when the farmer commits to and actually takes up natural farming, and that a farmer who defaults or discontinues will not receive subsequent instalments. Verification therefore happens before each release, not once at enrolment.

Beyond the cash incentive, participating farmers get access to training, Model Demonstration Farms, Bio-input Resource Centres stocking ready-to-use inputs, and the mission's certification and branding framework for marketing natural farming produce.

What is a Bio-input Resource Centre?

A Bio-input Resource Centre is a local unit that prepares, stores and sells ready-to-use natural farming inputs to farmers in and around a cluster. NMNF provides for 10,000 need-based BRCs. The purpose is practical: many farmers are willing to switch but cannot make every preparation themselves in the volume and at the time the crop needs it. BRCs are typically run by trained farmers, Self Help Groups or Farmer Producer Organisations, so they double as a rural enterprise.

How is natural farming different from organic farming?

Natural farming under NMNF relies on on-farm resources; cow dung and urine based preparations, biomass mulch, intercropping and local seed, with minimal purchased inputs of any kind. Certified organic farming permits a defined list of purchased off-farm organic inputs and is governed by a formal third-party or participatory certification system. NMNF runs its own simple certification and common branding arrangement so that produce grown under the mission can be identified without the cost of full organic certification.

Common reasons NMNF instalments stop

• Natural farming not actually practised on the registered area at verification.
• Chemical inputs found in use on the plot enrolled under the mission.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT transfer fails.
• Area mismatch between the land record and the area claimed.
• Training not attended, where the state has made it a condition of the release.

Help and grievance redressal for NMNF

• Krishi Sakhi or cluster in-charge in your Gram Panchayat, the first point of contact for enrolment and instalment queries.
• Block agriculture office and district agriculture officer for escalation.
• Krishi Vigyan Kendra for training and Model Demonstration Farm access.
• Kisan Call Centre: 1800-180-1551, 6 am to 10 pm, replies in 22 languages.
• Mission portal: naturalfarming.dac.gov.in for guidelines and state contacts.

Enrolment under NMNF is free. No agent can add your name to the cluster list for a fee, and the incentive is paid only into your own Aadhaar-seeded bank account.