National Agriculture Policy.

The overall objective of the National Agriculture Policy is to make the nation self-sufficient in food through increasing production of all crops including cereals and ensure a dependable food security system for all. The specific objectives of the National Agriculture Policy are to: 1) ensure a profitable and sustainable agricultural production system and raise the purchasing power by increasing real income of the farmers; 2) preserve and develop land productivity; 3) reduce excessive dependence on any single crop to minimize the risk; 4) increase production and supplies of more nutritious food crops and thereby ensuring food security and improving nutritional status; 5) preserve existing bio-diversity of different crops; 6) take up programmes for the introduction, utilization and extension of bio-technology; 7) take necessary steps to ensure environmental protection as well as environment-friendly sustainable agriculture through increased use of organic manure and strengthening of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme; 8) take appropriate steps to develop an efficient irrigation system and encourage farmers in providing supplementary irrigation during drought with a view to increasing cropping intensity and yield; 9) establish agriculture as a diversified and sustainable income generating sector through strengthening of 'Farming System' based agricultural production and agro-forestry programmes; 10) take effective steps to ensure input supplies to the farmers at fair prices in a competitive market and remove difficulties at the farmers level which have arisen out of the privatization of input distribution system; 11) develop marketing system to ensure fair prices of agricultural commodities; 12) introduce an appropriate institutional system of providing credit to ensure the availability of agricultural credit in time; 13) produce and supply of agricultural commodities as required by the industrial sector; 14) reduce imports of agricultural commodities and find out newer opportunities for increasing exports as well; 15) create opportunities for establishing agro-processing and agro-based industries; 16) protect interests of the small, marginal and tenant farmers; 17) update the agricultural system in the light of the Agreement on Agriculture under WTO, SAFTA and other international treaties by protecting the national interests; and 18) develop contingency management system to combat natural disasters.