Why in news
- Ministry of Agriculture highlighted the expansion of sustainable farming systems, including natural farming clusters covering 8.80 lakh hectares as of March 2026.
What is Regenerative Agriculture?
- An outcome-focused farming approach that restores soil health, enhances biodiversity, improves watershed health, and sequesters carbon.
- Integrates practices such as zero/minimal tillage, cover cropping, crop rotation, agroforestry, and biological nutrient management.
Key Components and Government Support
- National Mission on Natural Farming promotes chemical-free, bio-input-based agricultural clusters across states.
- Per Drop More Crop scheme under PMKSY expanded micro-irrigation coverage to 109 lakh hectares by May 2026.
- Over 25.89 crore Soil Health Cards have been issued to optimise crop-specific nutrient application.
Why it Matters
- Mitigates climate risk for small and marginal farmers by reducing input cost vulnerabilities and soil degradation.
- Improves water-use efficiency and ecological resilience against unpredictable rainfall patterns.
Key terms
Natural Farming
A ecological farming system that excludes synthetic chemical inputs and relies on biological processes and local inputs.
Soil Health Card
A field-specific printed report indicating crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and soil amendments needed for farm holdings.
Prelims facts
- Per Drop More Crop is implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).
Mains discussion
- Examine how regenerative farming practices address land degradation while improving climate resilience for smallholders.
Source: PIB
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
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2017 · Q72 · General Studies · 2 marks
Consider the following statements: The nation-wide 'Soil Health Card Scheme' aims at 1. expanding the cultivable area under irrigation. 2. enabling the banks to assess the quantum of loans to be granted to farmers on the basis of soil quality. 3. checking the overuse of fertilizers in farmlands. Which of the above statements is/are correct?