Rainfed Area Development

About Rainfed Area Development

Launched in 2014-15, the Rainfed Area Development (RAD) scheme mainstreams sustainable development of rainfed areas through an area-based approach centred on Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) that lift productivity while cutting the risks tied to climatic variability. Under this system, crops/cropping systems combine with horticulture, livestock, fishery, agro-forestry, apiculture, and similar activities, helping farmers maximize farm returns for sustaining their livelihood while also cushioning the blow from drought, flood, or other extreme weather through income from allied activities when crops fail. Interventions are shaped by land capability and local climatic conditions, aiming for integrated development through disseminating and adopting rainfed technologies with wider reach in disadvantaged areas, alongside location-specific planning that coordinates, converges, and leverages investment from other Schemes/Missions such as MGNREGA, PMKSY-WDC, RKVY, the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), and the Sub Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE), among others. The scheme emphasizes integrating agriculture components — agriculture, horticulture, fishery, animal husbandry, apiculture, agro forestry, mushrooms, vermi composting, and more — to lift farm production through synergy and lessen the impact of adverse climate. It promotes sustainable practices such as soil test-based nutrient management, resource conservation, use of indigenous seeds, and crop selection matched to agro-climatic conditions. Families can get financial assistance of up to Rs. 30,000/- for adopting integrated farming systems. A cluster of 100 hectares or more (contiguous or non-contiguous in difficult terrain, within close proximity in a village/adjoining villages) may be taken up, to achieve a noticeable convergence impact, encourage local participation, and support future replication of the model over larger areas. This component’s supplementary support covers gap-filling resource conservation activities under converging programmes. RAD clusters need soil analysis/soil health card/soil survey maps to justify proposed interventions, and at least 25% of the farming system area must fall under On Farm Water Management. Farming Systems recommended by ICAR’s Contingency Plans, and successful NICRA project findings, also factor into developing the integrated project plan. The component further encourages creating and developing common property resources/assets/utilities — extensive livestock systems, protective irrigation infrastructure, grain banks, biomass shredders, fodder banks, group marketing, and so on. The Mission’s key objectives are: • Taking a location-specific, landscape-based approach to dry-land areas to conserve natural resources sustainably, strengthen agriculture production systems, and develop livelihoods by integrating/converging schemes area-wise. • Making agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative, and climate resilient through location-specific Integrated/Composite Farming Systems. • Conserving natural resources through suitable soil and moisture conservation measures. • Building the capacity of farmers and stakeholders, alongside other ongoing Missions like the National Food and Nutrition Security Mission and the National Initiative for Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), in climate change adaptation. • Lifting rainfed farming productivity by mainstreaming rainfed technologies refined under the All India Coordinated Research Project on Dry land Agriculture (AICRPDA-NICRA), and by leveraging resources/provisions from other Schemes/Missions like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), PMKSY-WDC, NFNSM, RKVY, Krishonnati Yojana, SMAE, and the National Mission on Natural Farming, among others.