ICAR partners with Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, MSSRF and Bharat Krishak Samaj to document farmer-led innovations in natural farming

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA), Hyderabad; M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai; and Bharat Krishak Samaj (BKS), New Delhi, to promote farmer-led innovations and sustainable agricultural practices.

The MoU signed in New Delhi will facilitate a collaborative action-research study titled “Capturing Farmer Innovation in Natural Farming Transitions” under the National Mission on Natural Farming. The initiative aims to document grassroots innovations, generate scientific evidence and translate farmers' experiences into actionable knowledge.

Addressing the event, M L Jat, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), and Director General of ICAR, stressed the need to integrate modern science with traditional knowledge, promote agro-biodiversity and strengthen sustainable food systems.


Jat highlighted the importance of improving water and nutrient-use efficiency, building climate resilience and strengthening market linkages and value chains to enhance farmers' incomes.

He said that 2.6 million farmers have enrolled under the natural farming initiative, covering 1.3 million hectares, indicating growing interest in the farming approach.

Jat also highlighted the ICAR-ICMR initiative, SEHAT (Science Excellence for Health through Agricultural Transformation), which seeks to strengthen the linkages between agriculture, nutrition and health.

The collaborative study will document innovations developed by farmers, examine region-specific pathways for transitioning to natural farming and assess their impact on soil health, biodiversity, resource-use efficiency and farm incomes.

The findings are expected to provide an evidence base for policy recommendations and help strengthen the implementation of the National Mission on Natural Farming, while supporting the wider adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.