Access to weather information To mitigate the impacts of adverse weather on agriculture, under the Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa (GKMS) scheme, medium range weather forecast for next 5 days at district and block are generated by India Meteorological Department (IMD). Based on rainfall and other weather parameters along with weather forecasts issued by IMD, 130 Agromet Field Units prepare Agromet Advisories in English as well as in the regional language for dissemination through multiple channels. Also, farmers access weather information including alerts and related agromet advisories specific to their districts through the mobile App viz., ‘Meghdoot’ launched by the Ministry of Earth Sciences which is available in English and 13 regional languages. These weather details are also accessible to farmers through ‘Mausam’ App of IMD. The Panchayat-level weather forecast information is accessible through multiple digital platforms, including: eGramSwaraj, ‘Gram Manchitra’ Application of MoPR, ‘Meri Panchayat’ Mobile App and Mausamgram web portal of IMD. Resilient crop varieties Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has released a total of 2900 varieties during last 10 years (2014-2024), out of which, 2661 varieties are tolerant to one or more biotic and/or abiotic stresses. Under National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project, 298 climate resilient varieties tolerant to drought/flood/ heat in 11 crops were demonstrated in 151 climatically vulnerable districts across the country. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has released a total of 2900 varieties during last 10 years (2014-2024), out of which, 2661 varieties are tolerant to one or more biotic and/or abiotic stresses. Under National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project, 298 climate resilient varieties tolerant to drought/flood/ heat in 11 crops were demonstrated involving 11,835 farmers, across the 448 villages in 151 climatically vulnerable districts across the country. About 5278 tribal and smallholder farmers in 72 drought-prone districts under NICRA project received tolerant seeds of different crops for undertaking field demonstrations. Organic farming schemes Organic farming is being promoted through Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) in all the States/UTs except North Eastern States and Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) for the North Eastern States. Both schemes stress on end-to-end support to farmers engaged in organic farming i.e. from production to processing, certification and marketing. Primary focus of the schemes is to form organic clusters, with preference to small and marginal farmers, to create a supply chain. Both schemes are also promoting natural resource based integrated and climate resilient sustainable farming systems, natural resource conservation and on-farm nutrient recycling. Both the schemes are implemented through States /UT Governments. Under PKVY, assistance of Rs. 31,500 per ha in 3 years is provided for promotion of organic farming. Out of this, assistance of Rs. 15,000 per ha is provided to farmers through Direct Benefit Transfer for on- farm /off –farm organic inputs including organic compost. Under MOVCDNER, assistance of Rs. 46,500/ha in 3 years is provided for creation of Farmers Producer Organizations, support to farmers for organic inputs etc. Out of this, assistance @ Rs. 32,500/ ha is provided to farmers for off -farm /on –farm organic inputs such as bio-fertilizers, vermicompost, and organic pesticides including Rs. 15,000 as Direct Benefit Transfer to the farmers. Farmers can avail assistance for maximum 2 ha area under both the schemes. National Mission on Natural Farming The National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) is implemented in 15,000 natural farming clusters covering 7.5 Lakh Ha area across the country. Each cluster is of contiguous areas of about 50 Ha and with approximately 125 farmers. Scientists, Farmer Master Trainers (FMTs) and trained Community Resource Persons (CRPs) undertake awareness generation, training, on-field demonstration and provide continuous handholding support to farmers. An output based incentive of ₹4000/- per acre per year per farmer for 2 years (up to 1 acre per farmer) is provisioned in the scheme for farmers to practice natural farming, training, upkeep of livestock, preparation of natural farming inputs etc. Further, farmers are being supported by a simple certification system for increased market access. The Natural Farming Certification System is under implementation by National Centre for Organic & Natural Farming (NCONF), Ghaziabad under Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) - India. An online portal (https://naturalfarming.dac.gov.in/ ) has been developed for real-time monitoring of the progress of implementation of NMNF. A Bio-input Resource Centre (BRC) is a cluster level enterprise that provides ready to use Natural Farming bio-inputs to local farmers who may not themselves be making on-farm inputs. BRC will also disseminate knowledge, training and demonstration on these natural farming bio Inputs to farmers. BRCs may be set up by practicing natural farming farmers, Primary Agriculture Credit Society/ Farmer Producer Organizations, Self Help Groups, local rural entrepreneurs etc. Crop insurance schemes Yield index based Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) and weather index based Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) introduced in the country from Kharif 2016 season, is available for all States/UTs and is voluntary for the States as well as farmers. PMFBY offers comprehensive risk coverage for crops from pre-sowing to post-harvest stages in areas notified by the State Governments. It safeguards farmers against losses due to widespread natural calamities such as floods, droughts, cyclones, hailstorms, and pest attacks, as well as localized risks like landslides, cloudbursts, and inundation. The scheme also covers post-harvest losses caused by events like unseasonal rains and cyclones, along with risks related to prevented sowing. States/UTs are free to subscribe under the scheme keeping in view their risk perception and financial considerations etc. The PMFBY is designed to cover those crops where past yield data of requisite number of years based on Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs), is available and the State Government has the capacity to conduct requisite number of CCEs to assess the yield of the crop to calculate claims. For the crops not meeting the aforesaid conditions, the concerned State Government is free to notify them for coverage under Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) under which claims payment are structured on the basis of weather index parameters. Under PKVY, financial assistance of Rs. 4,500/ha for 3 years is provided for marketing, packaging, branding, value addition etc. Rs. 3,000/ha in 3 years is provided for certification and residue analysis. Assistance is also provided @Rs. 9,000/ha in 3 years for training, awareness & capacity building. Under MOVCDNER, financial assistance of Rs 4000 per ha in 3 years is provided for value chain marketing at state level, financial assistance of Rs 10000 per ha in 3 years is provided for activities of ICS management, training and certification. Credit support Farmers receive Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans at a subsidized interest rate of 7%. To facilitate this, an up front interest subvention (IS) of 1.5% is provided to financial institutions. Additionally, farmers who repay their loans promptly receive a 3% Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI), effectively reducing the interest rate to 4% per annum. To provide relief to the farmers on occurrence of natural calamities, the component of interest subvention is available on the restructured amount to banks for the first year and such restructured loans would attract normal rate of interest from the second year onwards as per the policy laid down by RBI. Interest subvention and prompt repayment incentive on restructured crop loans is also given to farmers affected by severe natural calamities for a maximum period of 5 years based on the report of Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) for grant of National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) assistance and Sub-Committee of National Executive Committee (SC-NEC). Market linkages To ensure market linkage States organize seminars, workshops, buyer-seller meetings, exhibitions and organic festivals either within their own region or in key markets of other states. Additionally, Farmer Producer Organisations have been onboarded on GeM platform and Open Network for Digital Commerce for digital market linkage and e-commerce. Source : PIB