National Mission on Natural Farming (GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, gave a written reply in Lok Sabha on National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF).
NMNF:
- To motivate farmers to adopt chemical free farming and enhance the reach of natural farming, the Government has formulated National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) as a separate and independent scheme from 2023-24 by up scaling the Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddati (BPKP).
- The success of NMNF will require behavioral change in farmers to shift from chemical based inputs to cow based locally produced inputs and thus requires continuous creation of awareness, training, handholding and capacity building of farmers in the initial years.
- The provision of Rs 459.00 crores for 2023-24 has been proposed after careful consideration and the requirement of increase of budget is not anticipated at this stage.
- The budget for fertilizer subsidy for 2023-24 has been kept at Rs 1,75,099 crore.
What is Natural Farming?
- Natural Farming is a way of chemical free farming based on desi cow and locally available resources, with no chemical fertilizers and pesticides and promotes traditional indigenous practices which give freedom to farmers from externally purchased inputs.
- It is largely based on on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching, use of on-farm desi cow dung-urine formulation; managing pests through diversity, on-farm botanical concoctions and exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs directly or indirectly and emphasis is given on improving natural nutrient cycling and increase in organic matter in the soil, which can help with climate change resilience and carbon sequestration in soils.
Significance of Organic Farming:
- “National Standard of Organic Production (NSOP) has defined organic agriculture as “a system of farm design and management to create an ecosystem which can achieve sustainable productivity without use of artificial off farm input such as chemical fertilizer and pesticides.
- Organic farming is considered to be climate friendly farming practices promoting low external input usage, recycling, reuse and reduced use of synthetics in farming.
- Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) under its All India Network Programme on Organic Farming has developed package of practices for organic production in cropping and farming systems mode.
Climate smart agriculture:
- Climate smart agriculture is a broader concept which includes all environments friendly agricultural approaches like integrated farming systems, conservation agriculture, natural farming, organic farming, precision agriculture, regenerative agriculture, reclamation of degraded soils and reduced food loss and waste to achieve sustainable agriculture.
- Climate smart agriculture is an integrated approach to managing landscapes-cropland, livestock, forests and fisheries-that address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change.
- It aims to tackle three main objectives:
- sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes,
- adapting and building resilience to climate change and reducing greenhouses gas emissions wherever possible and
- supports FAO strategic framework 2022-2031.
Way Forward:
- To make global consensus on a broader concept, Government has opted climate smart agriculture rather than natural and organic farming in its priorities for G20 agriculture working group.
What does Muslim personal law say on inheritance?
(GS Paper 1, Social Issues)
Why in news?
- A Muslim couple from Kerala, advocate C. Shukkur and his wife Sheena, former Pro Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University, recently decided to get their marriage registered under the Special Marriage Act (SMA), almost 30 years after having solemnised their nikaah according to Islamic principles.
Details:
- Mr. Shukkur claimed to have got the marriage registered under SMA, so that principles of the secular Act could apply to matters of inheritance in his family, and enable his daughters to inherit the couple’s property under the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
- The couple has three daughters and no sons.
What does Islamic law say?
- This decision has put the spotlight on Islamic principles of inheritance. The Koran, through Surah Nisa clearly outlines the principles of inheritance for both direct and indirect heirs.
- Verse 7 states, “For men there is a share in what their parents and close relatives leave, and for women there is a share in what their parents and close relatives leave, whether it is little or much. These are obligatory shares.”
- According to unanimously agreed rules on the division of property in Islam, a daughter gets half the share of the son. So if a son inherits a plot of 100 metres from the father, the daughter gets a plot of 50 metres or half the value of the 100-metre plot.
On Marriage:
- On marriage, according to Islam, it is the man who is supposed to bear the family expenses, including residence, food, clothing and medicine besides maintenance of his wife, education of his children and looking after his parents.
- If the husband predeceases his wife, she gets a one-eighth share of his property, if the couple has children. Otherwise, she gets one-fourth.
- There is also a share for paternal uncles, aunts, etc, as long as they are blood relatives. Same for grandparents if they are alive. Each parent gets one-sixth if the son passes away before them, and leaves children behind.
Issues:
- The problem, as in the case of the Kerala couple arises, when a couple has only a daughter or daughters.
- The daughters can inherit only two-thirds of father’s property, as the holy book says, “If you leave only two or more females, their share is two-thirds of the estate.” Beyond that, the shares are for the mother and for paternal blood relatives.
What are the various options?
- Within Islamic law, options are available to such a couple in case they want the property to remain within the family.
- The first option is to make a will or vasiyat under which a person can declare that upon his death, a particular heir shall inherit not more than one-third of the property. This is often done in case one of the children is not financially sound, or has special needs, or has served his or her parents more than other children.
- For instance, if two children stay abroad and one child stays back with parents to look after them in old age, such a provision may be used. Many Muslim families used this provision during the Partition when many families were divided. While some children crossed over to Pakistan, others remained here with their parents.
Virasat:
- Besides vasiyat, there is also the concept of virasat. Under virasat or inheritance, there is the option of hiba which allows unrestricted transfer of wealth or property to a person during the lifetime of the donor.
- In the case of the Kerala couple, hiba provisions could have been used to transfer all the property in the name of the daughters during the lifetime of the parents. This is like a gift deed.
- Importantly, while the Islamic division of property clauses for relatives comes into force once a person dies, a gift deed can be made during one’s lifetime. The jury is out whether the Kerala couple’s actions went against the tenets of Islam or arose from parents’ anxiety to secure the future of their children.
Centre lays down policy on cattle dehorning & castration 63 years after implementation of animal cruelty Act
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Why in news?
- Sixty-three years after the implementation of ‘The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in 1960’, the central government recently laid down the procedures for dehorning cattle and castration, branding or nose-roping of any animal.
- The procedures were earlier undefined under Sections 11 and subsection 3 of the Act, which made it difficult to prevent cruelty against animals.
Earlier provisions:
- Section 11 defined the acts that amount to treating animals with cruelty. But subsection 3 allowed exceptions for animal husbandry procedures, which involve dehorning cattle and castration, branding and nose roping of animals in a prescribed manner.
- Section 3(c) of the law also offered exceptions in “the extermination or destruction of any animal under the authority of any law for the time being in force,” which is painful.
New law:
- The new law was announced through a notification and defined how painful procedures such as castration of bulls, horses and other animals are to be carried out.
- All procedures are to be carried out with the involvement of a registered veterinary practitioner, along with the mandatory use of general and local anaesthetics.
- The existing methods involve pushing a bull to the ground to use a castrator sans painkillers. The castration method involves crushing the blood vessels, nerves and vas deferns to cause the testicles to become defunct.
- The rules also demand the breeding of naturally hornless cattle over dehorning and using face halters and other humane procedures for nose roping and preventing cold and hot branding on live tissues.
- The rules also demand animals be blindfolded to reduce stress levels, laid on soft ground, and given post-surgical care.
- Tagging, branding and radio-telemetry devices should be placed on dead tissues.
Concerns:
- However, cow rearers are sceptical about the effective implementation of these rules. Such procedures often remain to be followed on paper but difficult to implement in reality.
- Farmers are often unaware of the concept of painkillers or anaesthesia.
- The issue is concerning as most dairy owners and farmers abandon their bulls on roads as it incurs extra cost or effort to sustain them.
- Given the reality, it is a far-fetched idea that farmers would be willing to call for a veterinary doctor or take the cattle to conduct the procedures to reduce animal pain.
Way Forward:
- Though a step towards ethical practices and reducing pain for animals, its implementation lies entirely to the chief veterinary officer of the area on its effectivity.
- Moreover, farmers in remote rural areas should be made aware of such humane practices and agree to take extra efforts for well-being for their cattle.
