The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is a government scheme launched in 2014-15 as one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), which was announced in 2008. The mission was created to address the vulnerability of Indian agriculture, particularly the nearly 60% of the net sown area that is rainfed, to climate variability and to make it more productive, remunerative, and resilient. The NMSA aims to promote sustainable agriculture practices by enhancing resource efficiency, promoting climate resilience, and ensuring the livelihood security of farmers.
The mission works through four main pillars or components: Rainfed Area Development (RAD), Soil Health Management (SHM), Per Drop More Crop (PDMC), and Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture: Monitoring, Modelling and Networking (CCSAMMN). RAD promotes Integrated Farming Systems (IFS), which combine crops, livestock, and agro-forestry to diversify income and reduce climate risk. SHM focuses on maintaining long-term soil fertility through practices like the Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme, which promotes balanced nutrient application based on soil testing. The PDMC component encourages micro-irrigation techniques like drip and sprinkler systems to improve on-farm water-use efficiency.
The institutional path of the NMSA has seen changes; the PDMC component was integrated into the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) in 2015-16. More recently, the NMSA has been integrated under the umbrella of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) since 2022-23. The mission is closely connected to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research's (ICAR) National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) programme, which serves as its research and knowledge arm.