Regenerative Agriculture In India

Source: PIB
GS III: Agriculture

Why in the News?

The PIB, in its explainer “Rebuilding Farming Systems: Regenerative Agriculture for a Resilient India”, highlighted regenerative agriculture as a pathway to restore soil health, conserve resources, enhance biodiversity and make Indian agriculture more resilient to climate stresses.

News in Brief

• India’s agriculture and allied sectors recorded 4.45% decadal growth during FY16–FY25, but sustaining productivity requires restoring the ecological foundations of farming.
• Natural farming, agroforestry, micro-irrigation, integrated farming systems, farm mechanisation and scientific soil management are among the major regenerative approaches being promoted in India.
• As of March 2026, natural farming clusters covered 8.80 lakh hectares with 18.19 lakh farmers, while 109 lakh hectares had been covered under Per Drop More Crop (PDMC).
• The government is supporting the transition through initiatives such as National Mission on Natural Farming, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, PDMC, Rainfed Area Development Programme, Agroforestry Component under PM-RKVY and Soil Health Card Scheme.

What is Regenerative Agriculture?

• Regenerative agriculture is a holistic farming approach centred on restoring soil health, enhancing biodiversity and ensuring long-term productivity and resilience in farming systems.
• It is based on the following principles:
  • Minimizing soil disturbance
  • Protecting the living roots of perennial crops
  • Maintaining soil cover
  • Integrating Livestock
  • Limiting the use of chemical inputs
  • Enhancing biodiversity

Need For Regenerative Agriculture

• Soil degradation
  • Intensive cultivation and excessive chemical use reduce soil vitality.
  • Declining soil health raises input costs and creates uncertain yields.
• Climate vulnerability
  • Heatwaves, dry spells and excess rainfall cause major crop losses.
  • Small and marginal farmers are particularly vulnerable to such shocks.
• Resource stress
  • Agriculture faces increasing pressure on water, soil and other natural resources.
  • Efficient use of water and nutrients is essential for long-term productivity.
• Ecological degradation
  • Conventional intensive farming can affect biodiversity and ecosystem functions.
  • Regenerative approaches seek to restore ecological balance.

Major Regenerative Agricultural Practices

Water and Resource Efficiency

• Micro-Irrigation
  • Includes drippers, sprinklers, and foggers deliver water directly to plant roots.
  • This reduces water wastage and improves water-use efficiency.
  • By optimizing farm-level water management, these systems enhance crop productivity and strengthen resilience to droughts and water stress.
• Farm Mechanization
  • involves the use of agricultural machinery and equipment to streamline and automate various farm operations.
  • It helps optimize the use of key inputs such as water, fuel, and fertilizers, reducing wastage and lowering the carbon footprint.
  • By enabling timely and precise farm operations, mechanization improves resource management, enhances productivity, and helps reduce the environmental impact of farming.

Soil and Nutrient Management

• Nitrogen Fertilizer Management
  • Helps reduce nitrous oxide emissions while improving crop productivity.
  • It focuses on selecting the right fertilizer and optimizing application timing and dosage.
  • Other practices include deep placement of supergranular urea and the use of leaf color charts for precise assessment of nitrogen status.
  • The approach also promotes biological inputs such as cyanobacteria and legume intercropping.
  • These measures improve nitrogen-use efficiency and minimize environmental losses.
• Natural Farming 
  • It is a chemical-free agricultural approach rooted in India’s traditional knowledge systems.
  • It also promotes the use of traditional seed varieties and the integration of trees along farm boundaries.
  • Important practices,
    • The system relies on on-farm biological inputs such as Beejamrut, Jeevamrut, GhanJeevamrut, Neemastra, and Dashparni, prepared using inputs from native livestock.
    • Pest management is undertaken through locally prepared, on-farm botanical formulations.
    • Practitioners are encouraged to adopt continuous cover cropping, multi-cropping, mulching, and minimal soil disturbance to maintain soil fertility and ecological balance.
    • The integration of livestock with diversified cropping systems further helps improve soil health, restores ecosystems, and reduces input costs for farmers.
• Soil Health Management practices
  • Green manuring
    • Involves growing and incorporating specific crops into the soil to add organic matter and nutrients.
    • It helps in improving soil fertility, structure, and carbon sequestration.
  • Cover cropping
    • Refers to growing crops primarily to cover the soil rather than for harvest.
    • It protects against erosion, maintains soil organic carbon, and supports nutrient cycling.
  • Mulching
    • Involves covering the soil surface with organic residues such as leaves, straw, etc.
    • It helps conserve moisture and regulate soil temperature.
    • Mulching also suppresses weeds, promotes beneficial microbial activity, and improves crop productivity.

Integrated and Climate Resilient Farming 

• Integrated Farming System
  • It integrates crops, livestock, fisheries, and allied activities such as horticulture, agroforestry, and apiculture.
  • The approach promotes practices such as intercropping, crop rotation, multi-cropping, and mixed farming that maximize resource use.
  • This also reduces the risk of crop failure, diversifies livelihood opportunities, and enhances resilience to climate extremes such as floods and droughts.
• Agroforestry
  • Integrates perennial tree systems with fruit and plantation crops to create a more sustainable and profitable farming system.
  • It helps farmers earn additional income while improving soil moisture, regulating local temperatures, and storing more carbon.
  • In rainfed regions, agroforestry plays a crucial role in rejuvenating degraded land. These systems help mitigate the impacts of unpredictable rainfall, enhance agricultural resilience, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions over time.
• Climate-Resilient Agriculture
  • Focuses on balanced nutrient and fertilizer use, effective pest management, efficient water use, soil-moisture conservation and land preparation practices that protect soil health and improve crop performance.
  • It also promotes water-sharing groups, seed and fodder systems, community nurseries and collective marketing, helping farming systems withstand climate-related stresses and shocks.

Benefits of Regenerative Agriculture

Environmental Benefits

• Regenerative practices rebuild soil organic matter, improve soil structure, and enhance long-term soil fertility, supporting stable agricultural productivity.
• Regenerative approaches create favourable conditions for a wide variety of species, including pollinators, beneficial insects, and soil microorganisms.
  • This helps in strengthening overall ecosystem balance.
• These systems absorb and store more carbon than they emit, helping reverse agricultural emissions.
• Healthier soils improve water retention and reduce runoff.
  • This limits soil erosion and the flow of sediments and pollutants into rivers and lakes, helping protect water bodies.

Economic and Social Benefits

• Healthier soils reduce dependence on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation which in turn lowers input costs, stabilizes yields, and enhances farmers’ net incomes.
• Regenerative agriculture creates new livelihood opportunities across farming, advisory services, technology, and ecological management.
• Farms adopting regenerative practices are better equipped to withstand climate variability and market fluctuations.

Key Government Initiatives Driving Regenerative Agriculture

• National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)– Promotes chemical-free natural farming through bio-inputs, farmer training and community-led adoption.
• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)– Encourages organic farming through financial support, certification and market linkages.
• Per Drop More Crop (PDMC)– Improves water-use efficiency by promoting micro-irrigation systems.
• Rainfed Area Development Programme (RAD)– Promotes integrated farming systems by combining crops with allied activities.
• Sub-Mission on Agroforestry Component under PM-RKVY- Supports tree-based farming through quality planting material and related support.
• Soil Health Card Scheme- Promotes scientific soil nutrient management through soil testing and crop-specific recommendations.

Way Forward and Conclusion

Scaling regenerative agriculture requires greater farmer awareness, location-specific practices, stronger extension services, improved access to quality bio-inputs and planting material, and better market linkages. Convergence among natural farming, soil-health management, micro-irrigation and agroforestry initiatives can help farmers adopt these practices at scale.

Ultimately, regenerative agriculture can strengthen soil health, resource efficiency, climate resilience and farm incomes, providing a sustainable pathway for India’s agricultural future.

UPSC Prelims and Mains Practice Question

Consider the following statements regarding Regenerative Agriculture:

1. It seeks to actively improve soil health and ecosystem resilience rather than merely maintaining existing conditions.
2. The National Mission on Natural Farming provides an output-based incentive of ₹4,000 per acre per year for two years, subject to the prescribed limit.
3. Under Per Drop More Crop, financial assistance is higher for small and marginal farmers than for other farmers.
4. The Soil Health Card Scheme assesses soil health on 12 key parameters.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2, 3 and 4
(d) 2, 3 and 4 only

Answer: (c) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Mains Practice Question

Q. Regenerative agriculture can simultaneously address India’s concerns relating to soil degradation, water stress, climate vulnerability and farm profitability. Discuss the potential and challenges of scaling regenerative agriculture in India. (250 words)

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