Why govt. wants to formulate standard National Agriculture Code

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Last Updated12/10/2024

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has begun the process of formulating a National Agriculture Code (NAC), on the lines of the existing National Building Code and National Electrical Code.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has begun work on creating a National Agriculture Code (NAC), similar to the National Building Code and National Electrical Code.
This code aims to establish comprehensive standards for various agricultural practices, addressing gaps that current BIS standards for machinery and inputs do not cover.

The NAC is a framework being developed by the BIS to provide comprehensive standards for the entire agriculture cycle. It will guide farmers, agriculture universities, and officials involved in agricultural practices. The NAC will have two main parts:
General Principles: Applicable to all crops.
Crop-Specific Standards: Tailored standards for crops like paddy, wheat, oilseeds, and pulses.

Currently, BIS sets standards for agricultural machinery like tractors and harvesters and inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, but there are gaps in standards for agricultural practices.
Key areas like field preparation, micro-irrigation, and water usage lack standardized guidelines. The NAC aims to fill these gaps by covering every aspect of the agriculture process, ensuring more consistency, quality, and sustainability across the sector.

The NAC will cover:
Pre-harvest Operations: Crop selection, land preparation, sowing, irrigation, soil health, and plant health management.
Post-harvest Operations: Harvesting, threshing, primary processing, storage, and traceability.
Input Management: Standards for fertilizers, pesticides, and weedicides.
Emerging Areas: Natural and organic farming, as well as the use of Internet of Things (IoT) in agriculture.
The NAC also aims to integrate relevant Indian standards with agricultural practices and address cross-cutting areas such as SMART farming, sustainability, and documentation.

The NAC is designed with several key objectives in mind:
To create a national code that reflects the diversity of India's agriculture and agroclimatic zones.
To enable a quality culture in Indian agriculture by serving as a reference for policy makers and regulators.
To act as a comprehensive guide for farmers, helping them make informed decisions.
To address important aspects such as SMART farming, traceability, and sustainability.
To support capacity building through training and outreach programs for farmers.

The NAC project is expected to be completed by October 2025. The BIS has established working panels for 12-14 specific areas, including academic and R&D organizations, to draft the code.
Once completed, the BIS will provide training for farmers on the standards outlined in the NAC, with financial assistance offered for the training programs.

As part of this initiative, the BIS is also establishing Standardized Agriculture Demonstration Farms (SADF) in collaboration with leading agricultural institutes. These farms will serve as experimental sites for testing new agricultural practices and technologies aligned with the NAC standards.
The BIS has already signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with two institutes, including Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUAT), and is in the process of finalizing more.
These farms will play a key role in providing hands-on learning for farmers, extension officials, and industry representatives, ensuring better implementation of the NAC’s guidelines.