Guidelines for Setting up of Bio-input Resource Centres (BRC)

Context

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has provided the recommendations for putting in bio-input useful resource centres (BRC) under the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF).

Key Highlights

• Financial Assistance: ₹1 lakh per BRC, furnished in two installments of ₹50,000 each.
  • Assistance excludes costs like sheds, land condominium, or permanent infrastructure.
• Purpose of BRCs: Facilitate cluster-level manufacturing and availability of natural farming bio-inputs.
  • Act as understanding hubs for disseminating practices and solutions associated with natural farming.
  • Tailor bio-inputs in step with local soil, vegetation, and land-use patterns.
• Eligibility: BRCs need to be run by entrepreneur organizations already practicing natural farming.
  • If unavailable, the state natural farming cell will identify and onboard farmers willing to transition.
• Affordability Focus: Inputs produced and offered ought to continue to be cheap for small and marginal farmers.
• Integration with Other Schemes: Emphasis on convergence with programmes just like the Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs, National Mission on Edible Oilseeds, and so on.

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 expenses.
• BRCs will help scale up natural and organic farming by ensuring quality inputs and place-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 structures of farming
  • Reduce dependence on chemical inputs
• Implementation Target (Next 2 Years): To be implemented in 15,000 clusters of inclined Gram Panchayats
  • Reach out to at least 1 crore farmers
  • Cover 7.5 lakh hectares of agricultural land

Source: The DTE

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q. What are the present challenges before crop diversification? How do emerging technologies provide an opportunity for crop diversification? (2021)

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