Context:
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has begun the process of formulating a National Agriculture Code (NAC).
National Agriculture Code (NAC):
- Initiated by – Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
- Purpose – To create a comprehensive guide for agricultural practices, similar to the National Building Code and National Electrical Code.
- Objectives –
- Provide comprehensive recommendations tailored to agro-climatic zones, crop types, and socio-economic diversity.
- Assist the farming community in effective agricultural practices.
- Align Indian Standards with recommended agricultural practices.
- Address SMART farming, sustainability, traceability, and documentation.
- Deadline – Tentative completion by October 2025.
- Contain General Principles applicable to all crops and Crop-Specific Standards for paddy, wheat, oilseeds, and pulses.
- Coverage – Entire agriculture cycle from crop selection to post-harvest operations.
- Include process like Crop selection, Land preparation, Sowing, Irrigation, Soil health management, Plant health management, Harvesting, Primary processing, Post-harvest operations, Sustainability practices and Record maintenance.
- Covers emerging areas like Natural farming, organic farming, and the use of Internet-of-Things (IoT) in agriculture.
Source: The Indian Express
Previous Year Question
With reference to agriculture in India, how can the technique of ‘genome sequencing’ often seen in the news, be used in the immediate future?
1. Genome sequencing can be used to identify genetic markers for disease resistance and drought tolerance in various crop plants.
2. This technique helps in reducing the time required to develop new varieties of crop plants.
3. It can be used to decipher the host-pathogen relationships in crops.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2017 Prelims]
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (d)
