Not signed up to COP26 action agenda on sustainable agriculture: India

India dismissed reports that it had signed up to the Action Agenda on Sustainable Agriculture

India on Tuesday dismissed reports that it had signed up to the Action Agenda on Sustainable Agriculture at the ongoing COP26 climate summit in Glasgow as baseless and factually incorrect.

The Sustainable Agriculture Policy Action Agenda for the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture and Global Action Agenda for Innovation in Agriculture' was pegged as a highlight over the weekend at the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

"All continents were represented, with countries including India, Colombia, Vietnam, Germany, Ghana, and Australia, noted the UK's COP26 release around the announcement.

"Certain media reports have stated that India has signed the COP26 Action Agenda on Sustainable Agriculture at the ongoing Climate summit at Glasgow. It is clarified that such statements are baseless and factually incorrect, said Gaurav Khare, official spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, who is part of the Indian delegation at the COP26 summit.

"A National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is one of the Missions within the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) that is operational in the country to deal with the issue of climate change. The mission aims to evolve and implement strategies to make Indian agriculture more resilient to the changing climate, he said.

The spokesperson noted that the NMSA was approved for three major components Rainfed Area Development (RAD); On Farm Water Management (OFWM); and Soil Health Management (SHM). Subsequently, four new programmes were introduced namely Soil Health Card (SHC), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Mission Organic Value Chain Development in North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) and Sub Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF).

"During 2015-16, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was operationalised and subsumed under Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) component of PMKSY. In addition to aforementioned programmes under NMSA, Restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM) was launched in April 2018. Several steps are being taken to ensure that Indian agriculture remains on the path of sustainability, he highlighted.