Eco-Friendly Agriculture Practices Recognized in India

1.1 What did UPSC ask in 2020?

The Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2020 had a question on eco-friendly agriculture. It was Question 90 in General Studies Paper I, Set A.

It named four practices. They were crop diversification, legume intensification, tensiometer use and vertical farming. Students had to pick the ones that count as eco-friendly practices in India.

• (a) 1, 2 and 3 only
• (b) 3 only
• (c) 4 only
• (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

1.2 What is the official answer?

UPSC’s answer key gives option (a). That is 1, 2 and 3 only.

• In the key: crop diversification, legume intensification and tensiometer use.
• Not in the key: vertical farming.
• Option (d), which picks all four, is not the official answer.

The key lists only the letter for each question. It gives no reasons. The next cards explain why each practice helps.

1.3 Why might vertical farming be left out?

The key does not say. Research gives one clue. A 2025 paper in Plant Physiology says indoor vertical farming needs large amounts of energy.

The same paper reports that it can reduce the land and water needed for food. So the picture is mixed.

Treat this as a clue, not as UPSC’s reason. Learn the official answer as it is.

1.4 What does each practice mean?

• Crop diversification means growing a variety of crops on the same farm or in different regions, rather than relying on a single crop.
• Legume intensification means growing legume crops, such as clover, beans or peas. Their root bacteria fix nitrogen.
• Tensiometer use means using an instrument that measures soil water tension. That is how tightly water is held in the soil.
• Vertical farming means growing plants in stacked layers in a closed indoor method.

2.1 How does crop diversification help?

A 2025 review in Global Challenges lists several kinds of crop diversification.

• Spatial diversification
• Temporal diversification
• Genetic diversification
• Intercropping

The review says these strategies improve soil health and pest management.

Crop rotation is one form. It changes the crop on a plot each season or year. The review says this disrupts pest and disease cycles. It also helps stop the loss of particular soil nutrients.

Pests and pathogens that suit certain crops are less likely to build up when those crops are rotated out.

The review also says diverse cropping systems support natural pest predators. These help control pests and reduce the need for chemical pesticides.

A paper in Nature Communications adds a number. It describes a six-year field experiment in the North China Plain. Including legumes in rotations raised soil organic carbon stocks by 8 per cent.

2.2 Why do legumes feed the soil?

Legume roots carry nodules. Rhizobium bacteria live inside them. The bacteria and the plant have a symbiotic relationship.

The bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen into organic forms. The plant uses that nitrogen as a nutrient.

2.3 How much nitrogen can legumes add?

An extension note from New Mexico State University gives a range for nitrogen fixed by legumes, per acre per year.

• 25 to 75 pounds in a natural ecosystem
• Several hundred pounds in a cropping system

The Global Challenges review says rotating nitrogen-fixing legumes with cereals improves soil fertility by adding nitrogen. It also lessens the need for synthetic fertilisers.

2.4 What does a tensiometer measure?

A tensiometer measures soil water tension, also called matric potential. In plain words, it shows how tightly the soil holds its water.

Drier soil holds water more tightly. Roots must then pull harder to get it. So a higher reading means drier soil.

2.5 How does a tensiometer save water?

Oregon State University Extension calls soil moisture monitoring a direct, field-based way to improve irrigation timing and water use efficiency.

Good timing helps the crop take up water and nutrients. It also limits water lost by deep percolation or runoff.

2.6 What does vertical farming do?

The 2025 Plant Physiology paper describes vertical farming as a closed indoor method. Plants grow in stacked layers. It typically relies on artificial light and hydroponic systems that recycle water.

The paper reports that it can reduce the land and water needed. It also says a controlled indoor space could reduce pest exposure and so pesticide use. It treats these as potential gains, and it stresses the large energy need.

3.1 What is PKVY?

The Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) was launched in 2015 under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture.

Farmers who adopt organic practices get Rs 31,500 per hectare for a three-year period. PIB says the scheme encourages diversified farming systems.

3.2 How far has PKVY reached?

PIB gives these figures as of February 2025.

• Around 15 lakh hectares are under organic farming.
• More than 52,000 clusters were formed, 52,289 to be exact.
• About 25.30 lakh farmers benefited.

An earlier PIB reply, dated 10 December 2024, gives the area as 14.99 lakh hectares.

3.3 What is Per Drop More Crop?

Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) focuses on water use efficiency at farm level through drip and sprinkler irrigation.

• 2015-16 to 2021-22: a component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).
• From 2022-23: runs under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).
• 55 per cent assistance for small and marginal farmers.
• 45 per cent assistance for other farmers.

3.4 How does PDMC link to the tensiometer?

The PIB reply does not name the tensiometer among PDMC items. The two share a goal. PDMC aims at water use efficiency, and so does soil moisture monitoring.

3.5 Where does vertical farming get support?

The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) was launched in 2020-21. Loans under it carry these terms.

• Interest subvention of 3 per cent a year.
• Loan limit of Rs 2 crore.
• Subvention for a maximum of 7 years.

The AIF portal lists vertical farming among eligible projects. The list also names these.

• Hydroponic farming
• Aeroponic farming
• Mushroom farming
• Poly house or greenhouse

This is loan support for projects. It is not a verdict on whether a practice is eco-friendly. The UPSC key is a separate matter.

3.6 Is crop diversification a scheme goal too?

Yes. The Crop Diversification Programme runs under PM-RKVY in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. It has run since 2013-14.

Its aim is to move area from water-guzzling paddy to crops such as pulses, oilseeds and coarse cereals.

4.1 Which practice comes from older farming?

Legume rotation. Earlier, farmers in northern India grew legumes as fodder in one season and wheat in the next.

Farmers are now encouraged to adopt this practice. The nitrogen story from card 2 explains why.

4.2 What does each practice's source say?

• Rotation helps prevent the loss of specific soil nutrients, says the Global Challenges review.
• Soil moisture monitoring improves irrigation timing and water use efficiency, says Oregon State University Extension.
• Vertical farming is reported to reduce the land and water needed, says the 2025 Plant Physiology paper.

5.1 How do the four compare?

6.1 What pattern did UPSC use in 2020?

The question lists several practices and asks which ones count. Option (d), which picks everything, is the wrong guess here.

• UPSC CSP 2020, Q90 Crop diversification, legume intensification, tensiometer use, and vertical farming: which count as eco-friendly agriculture? Official key: option (a), 1, 2 and 3 only.

The safe approach is to test each item on its own. Do not assume that every new technology counts.

6.2 What else could be asked?

• Which organism fixes nitrogen in legume root nodules?
• What does a tensiometer measure?
• How much does PKVY give per hectare, and for how long?
• Which scheme funds drip and sprinkler irrigation?

6.3 Quick Q&A