What is the Krishi Sakhi Convergence Programme (KSCP)?

The Krishi Sakhi Convergence Programme is a Government of India initiative that certifies rural women Self-Help Group members from the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana — National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) as para-extension workers (Krishi Sakhis) after a structured training package. It was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) and the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and launched by the Prime Minister on 15 June 2024 in Varanasi, where the first tranche of Krishi Sakhi certificates was handed over.

Who is eligible to be trained as a Krishi Sakhi?

Serving members of DAY-NRLM Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the participating states, identified by the State Rural Livelihoods Mission (SRLM), with preference for women who are already active as Community Resource Persons (CRPs), Pashu Sakhis, Van Dhan Sakhis, or Master Trainers in natural farming. The candidate must be a resident of the operational village-cluster, be able to read and write, and be willing to complete the training and post-training assessment.

What does the Krishi Sakhi training curriculum cover?

The training package is a 56-hour residential + on-farm module delivered by the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad, in convergence with State Agricultural Universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). Modules include soil health and Soil Health Card interpretation, seed treatment and nursery management, integrated nutrient and pest management, natural farming pillars (Beejamrit, Jeevamrit, Ghan-Jeevamrit, mulching, Whapasa), preparation of bio-inputs at Bio-Input Resource Centres (BRCs), Farmer Field School (FFS) facilitation, post-harvest handling, animal husbandry basics and use of digital advisory tools including Kisan Suvidha and the AgriStack Farmer ID.

Which states are covered in the initial phase?

The first phase covers twelve states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. Roll-out to additional states is being sequenced by MoRD and DA&FW as State Rural Livelihoods Missions and State Agriculture Departments sign implementation compacts.

How much do Krishi Sakhis earn?

Certified Krishi Sakhis work as para-extension workers on a performance-linked honorarium disbursed through the SRLM and the block-level DA&FW extension machinery. Government of India communications around the June 2024 launch indicated an indicative annual earning potential of around ₹60,000–₹80,000 per Krishi Sakhi through convergence payments — including natural-farming cluster stipends under the National Mission on Natural Farming, Farmer Field School facilitation fees, bio-input sales through the BRC and demonstration incentives — placing them on the pathway to the ₹1 lakh per year Lakhpati Didi target of DAY-NRLM.

How does the Krishi Sakhi cadre link to the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)?

The Krishi Sakhi cadre is the primary last-mile extension arm of NMNF. Under the mission's 15,000-cluster architecture (about one crore farmers on around 7.5 lakh hectares), each Gram Panchayat cluster is expected to be anchored by a Krishi Sakhi supported by a Bio-Input Resource Centre (BRC) and a Model Demonstration Farm. The Krishi Sakhi enrols farmers on naturalfarming.dac.gov.in, runs Farmer Field Schools on the four NMNF pillars, and helps ensure per-hectare DBT release to enrolled farmers.

How does KSCP differ from ATMA's Farmer Friend and Community Resource Person cadres?

The ATMA Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension already funds Farmer Friends and district-level extension staff. KSCP is complementary — it draws exclusively from DAY-NRLM women SHGs and is explicitly targeted at natural farming, women farmers and Lakhpati Didi convergence. In practice, ATMA-funded Block Technology Managers and Assistant Technology Managers, KVK scientists and Krishi Sakhis work as one extended extension team at the block level, sharing Farmer Field Schools and demonstrations.

How can a rural woman apply to become a Krishi Sakhi?

Applications are not accepted individually. Selection runs through the DAY-NRLM Cluster Level Federation (CLF) and Village Organisation (VO), which nominate candidates to the block SRLM office based on SHG membership and community references. The SRLM shares the shortlist with the State Agriculture Department and MANAGE for training scheduling and certification. Interested women should approach their SHG book-keeper or the DAY-NRLM Bank Sakhi in their village.

Where can I verify Krishi Sakhi certifications and progress data?

Certification data is maintained by MANAGE Hyderabad (manage.gov.in) and cross-listed in the DAY-NRLM MIS at nrlm.gov.in. NMNF cluster deployment is visible on naturalfarming.dac.gov.in. Press releases and phase-wise numbers are published on pib.gov.in around each certification distribution event; Cabinet-level updates go through agriwelfare.gov.in and rural.gov.in.

Krishi Sakhi Programme — Certified Women Para-Extension Workers under DAY-NRLM + DA&FW Convergence

The Krishi Sakhi Convergence Programme (KSCP) trains and certifies rural women Self-Help Group (SHG) members from the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana — National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) as para-extension workers — Krishi Sakhis — to deliver last-mile agricultural advisory in their villages. It was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) and the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and launched by the Prime Minister on 15 June 2024 in Varanasi, where the first Krishi Sakhi certificates were handed over. This guide covers the eligibility rules, the 56-hour training curriculum, the deployment model in NMNF Gram Panchayat clusters, the honorarium structure and its convergence with the Lakhpati Didi target, the National Mission on Natural Farming (see our NMNF deep-dive guide) and the ATMA extension system (see our ATMA deep-dive guide).

At a glance

Programme type: centrally-driven convergence programme; not a stand-alone budget line — funding flows from DA&FW schemes (primarily NMNF and the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension) and MoRD's DAY-NRLM.
Launched: 15 June 2024 by the Prime Minister at the Kisan Sammaan Sammelan, Varanasi.
Implementing partners: DA&FW (Extension Division and NMNF), MoRD (DAY-NRLM), MANAGE Hyderabad (curriculum, certification), State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLMs).
Training package: 56 hours — mixed residential and on-farm modules.
Portals: nrlm.gov.in (DAY-NRLM MIS), naturalfarming.dac.gov.in (NMNF cluster and Krishi Sakhi roster), manage.gov.in (training and certification), agriwelfare.gov.in (scheme guidelines) and rural.gov.in (MoRD).

Why a women-led para-extension cadre?

Indian public extension has a well-documented gap: the sanctioned ratio of one Agricultural Extension Officer for around 1,000 farm holdings is met in very few districts, and women farmers — who contribute a large share of on-farm labour — are under-served by male-dominated extension teams. DAY-NRLM has, over more than a decade, mobilised more than nine crore rural women into around 90 lakh SHGs, with a proven cadre of Community Resource Persons (Bank Sakhis, Pashu Sakhis, Van Dhan Sakhis). KSCP formalises the agriculture-facing version of this cadre — the Krishi Sakhi — so that natural-farming clusters, Soil Health Card advisory, seed treatment, integrated pest management and Farmer Field Schools have a local, trained, women-led delivery arm that also unlocks the Lakhpati Didi earning pathway (annual household income of ₹1 lakh or more).

Eligibility and selection

A Krishi Sakhi candidate must be an active member of a DAY-NRLM SHG in one of the participating states, resident in the target Gram Panchayat cluster, literate, and willing to complete both the training package and the post-training on-farm assessment. Selection runs bottom-up through the DAY-NRLM federation:

Village Organisation (VO) recommends SHG members with prior interest or experience in agriculture, natural farming, seed conservation or animal husbandry.
The Cluster Level Federation (CLF) shortlists candidates in consultation with the block SRLM office.
The SRLM shares the block-wise shortlist with the State Agriculture Department and MANAGE for training scheduling.
Preference is extended to serving Pashu Sakhis, Van Dhan Sakhis, Master Trainers in natural farming and Bank Sakhis to build on existing rural-extension capacity.

The 56-hour training curriculum

The training package — designed by MANAGE Hyderabad in consultation with ICAR and SAUs — combines classroom, on-farm and Farmer Field School practice. Broad module areas:

Soil health and Soil Health Card interpretation — sampling protocols, macro- and micro-nutrient recommendations, balanced fertilisation (see our Soil Health Card guide).
Seed treatment, nursery raising and cropping systems for the major crops of the state.
Natural farming pillars: preparation and application of Beejamrit, Jeevamrit, Ghan-Jeevamrit, botanical extracts, mulching and Whapasa (soil moisture) — the four pillars used across the National Mission on Natural Farming clusters.
Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) aligned with state pest advisories.
Bio-input production at Bio-Input Resource Centres (BRCs) — hygiene, batching, packaging, quality control and pricing.
Farmer Field School (FFS) facilitation — session design, agro-ecosystem analysis, gender-inclusive group work.
Post-harvest handling, storage and value addition at the household and FPO level.
Animal husbandry basics — deworming schedules, vaccination calendars, small-ruminant and backyard-poultry hygiene.
Digital advisory tools — the mKisan Portal, Kisan Suvidha app, the AgriStack Farmer ID and Crop Sown Registry (see our Digital Agriculture Mission guide) and use of the Krishi Decision Support System.

Certification is issued on successful completion of the module assessments and an on-farm demonstration exercise supervised by the local KVK or SAU. Certificates are jointly co-branded by MANAGE, DA&FW and MoRD.

Deployment: NMNF clusters, ATMA and KVK convergence

Certified Krishi Sakhis are deployed through three converging channels:

NMNF Gram Panchayat clusters. Each cluster is anchored by a Krishi Sakhi and a Bio-Input Resource Centre, with one Model Demonstration Farm. Krishi Sakhis enrol farmers on naturalfarming.dac.gov.in, run FFS on the four natural-farming pillars, and support per-hectare DBT release to enrolled farmers under the mission's cluster architecture.
ATMA / Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension. Krishi Sakhis join the Block Technology Team and Farm Information Advisory Committee alongside ATMA Farmer Friends, Block Technology Managers, Assistant Technology Managers and KVK subject-matter specialists. See our ATMA deep-dive guide for the district-society architecture.
Krishi Vigyan Kendras. KVKs host refresher training, front-line demonstrations and technology-backstopping for the Krishi Sakhi cadre — with mentoring from the parent State Agricultural University. Browse the district-wise directory at Krishi Vigyan Kendras.

Earnings, honorarium and the Lakhpati Didi pathway

Krishi Sakhi earnings are pooled across activities rather than paid from a single line item. Typical income streams include:

Cluster-level stipends under NMNF for Farmer Field School facilitation and cluster enrolment.
Fees per Soil Health Card sampling round and per demonstration under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension.
Margin on bio-inputs produced and sold through the Bio-Input Resource Centre attached to the cluster.
Honorarium under DAY-NRLM for CRP-type activities (SHG bookkeeping backstopping, financial inclusion, women-farmer collectivisation).

Government of India communications around the June 2024 launch indicated an indicative annual earning potential of around ₹60,000–₹80,000 per Krishi Sakhi in year one, scaling towards the DAY-NRLM Lakhpati Didi target of ₹1 lakh per year of household income as cluster coverage and bio-input sales scale up. Actual earnings depend on state operational guidelines, cluster density and season.

Coverage: phase-1 states

Phase-1 roll-out began in twelve states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. Additional states are being onboarded as their State Rural Livelihoods Mission and State Agriculture Department sign implementation compacts, and as MANAGE expands training slots.

How rural women can apply

Applications are not accepted individually. The route is:

Join a DAY-NRLM Self-Help Group in your village if you are not already a member — contact the local Bank Sakhi or the block SRLM office.
Express interest to your SHG book-keeper and the Village Organisation for nomination as a Krishi Sakhi candidate.
The Cluster Level Federation forwards the nomination to the block SRLM office, which shares it with the State Agriculture Department for scheduling into the next MANAGE-supported training cohort.
On successful completion of the 56-hour training package and the on-farm assessment, the joint MANAGE–DA&FW–MoRD certificate is issued and the Krishi Sakhi is mapped to a Gram Panchayat cluster.

Related programmes and cross-references

The Krishi Sakhi cadre is the connective tissue between several major programmes. It is the last-mile extension arm for the National Mission on Natural Farming, which targets one crore farmers across ~7.5 lakh hectares through 15,000 Gram Panchayat clusters. It complements the district-level ATMA extension architecture funded by the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension (now under the Krishonnati Yojana umbrella — see our RKVY and Krishonnati Yojana guide). It uses Soil Health Card recommendations, the input-efficiency logic of PMKSY Per Drop More Crop and nano-fertilisers, and it references the AgriStack Farmer ID and Crop Sown Registry through the Digital Agriculture Mission. On the market side, Krishi Sakhis often mentor Farmer Producer Organisations formed under the 10,000 FPO scheme to aggregate natural-farming produce for sale on e-NAM and the National Cooperative for Organics Ltd. Digital advisory reaches the Krishi Sakhi and her cluster through the mKisan Portal and the Krishi Decision Support System. For the broader landscape of public-sector agri support, see our India government schemes for farmers hub, and browse the sourced advisory content in our knowledge base.

References

agriwelfare.gov.in — Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare: KSCP MoU, Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension guidelines and NMNF operational documents.
rural.gov.in and nrlm.gov.in — Ministry of Rural Development and DAY-NRLM MIS: SHG, VO and CLF architecture; Lakhpati Didi progress dashboards.
manage.gov.in — National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, Hyderabad: Krishi Sakhi curriculum, training calendar and certification records.
naturalfarming.dac.gov.in — NMNF portal: Gram Panchayat cluster enrolment, Bio-Input Resource Centre directory, Krishi Sakhi roster.
pib.gov.in — Press Information Bureau: 15 June 2024 launch release from Varanasi and subsequent phase-wise certification updates.
icar.org.in — Indian Council of Agricultural Research: technology backstopping through KVKs and SAUs.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Krishi Sakhi Convergence Programme (KSCP)?: The Krishi Sakhi Convergence Programme is a Government of India initiative that certifies rural women Self-Help Group members from the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana — National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) as para-extension workers (Krishi Sakhis) after a structured training package. It was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) and the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and launched by the Prime Minister on 15 June 2024 in Varanasi, where the first tranche of Krishi Sakhi certificates was handed over.
Who is eligible to be trained as a Krishi Sakhi?: Serving members of DAY-NRLM Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the participating states, identified by the State Rural Livelihoods Mission (SRLM), with preference for women who are already active as Community Resource Persons (CRPs), Pashu Sakhis, Van Dhan Sakhis, or Master Trainers in natural farming. The candidate must be a resident of the operational village-cluster, be able to read and write, and be willing to complete the training and post-training assessment.
What does the Krishi Sakhi training curriculum cover?: The training package is a 56-hour residential + on-farm module delivered by the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad, in convergence with State Agricultural Universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). Modules include soil health and Soil Health Card interpretation, seed treatment and nursery management, integrated nutrient and pest management, natural farming pillars (Beejamrit, Jeevamrit, Ghan-Jeevamrit, mulching, Whapasa), preparation of bio-inputs at Bio-Input Resource Centres (BRCs), Farmer Field School (FFS) facilitation, post-harvest handling, animal husbandry basics and use of digital advisory tools including Kisan Suvidha and the AgriStack Farmer ID.
Which states are covered in the initial phase?: The first phase covers twelve states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. Roll-out to additional states is being sequenced by MoRD and DA&FW as State Rural Livelihoods Missions and State Agriculture Departments sign implementation compacts.
How much do Krishi Sakhis earn?: Certified Krishi Sakhis work as para-extension workers on a performance-linked honorarium disbursed through the SRLM and the block-level DA&FW extension machinery. Government of India communications around the June 2024 launch indicated an indicative annual earning potential of around ₹60,000–₹80,000 per Krishi Sakhi through convergence payments — including natural-farming cluster stipends under the National Mission on Natural Farming, Farmer Field School facilitation fees, bio-input sales through the BRC and demonstration incentives — placing them on the pathway to the ₹1 lakh per year Lakhpati Didi target of DAY-NRLM.
How does the Krishi Sakhi cadre link to the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)?: The Krishi Sakhi cadre is the primary last-mile extension arm of NMNF. Under the mission's 15,000-cluster architecture (about one crore farmers on around 7.5 lakh hectares), each Gram Panchayat cluster is expected to be anchored by a Krishi Sakhi supported by a Bio-Input Resource Centre (BRC) and a Model Demonstration Farm. The Krishi Sakhi enrols farmers on naturalfarming.dac.gov.in, runs Farmer Field Schools on the four NMNF pillars, and helps ensure per-hectare DBT release to enrolled farmers.
How does KSCP differ from ATMA's Farmer Friend and Community Resource Person cadres?: The ATMA Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension already funds Farmer Friends and district-level extension staff. KSCP is complementary — it draws exclusively from DAY-NRLM women SHGs and is explicitly targeted at natural farming, women farmers and Lakhpati Didi convergence. In practice, ATMA-funded Block Technology Managers and Assistant Technology Managers, KVK scientists and Krishi Sakhis work as one extended extension team at the block level, sharing Farmer Field Schools and demonstrations.
How can a rural woman apply to become a Krishi Sakhi?: Applications are not accepted individually. Selection runs through the DAY-NRLM Cluster Level Federation (CLF) and Village Organisation (VO), which nominate candidates to the block SRLM office based on SHG membership and community references. The SRLM shares the shortlist with the State Agriculture Department and MANAGE for training scheduling and certification. Interested women should approach their SHG book-keeper or the DAY-NRLM Bank Sakhi in their village.
Where can I verify Krishi Sakhi certifications and progress data?: Certification data is maintained by MANAGE Hyderabad (manage.gov.in) and cross-listed in the DAY-NRLM MIS at nrlm.gov.in. NMNF cluster deployment is visible on naturalfarming.dac.gov.in. Press releases and phase-wise numbers are published on pib.gov.in around each certification distribution event; Cabinet-level updates go through agriwelfare.gov.in and rural.gov.in.

Programme dates, training-hour counts, phase-1 state list and indicative earnings above summarise publicly available material from the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, the Ministry of Rural Development, MANAGE Hyderabad and Press Information Bureau releases around the 15 June 2024 launch. State-specific operationalisation — nomination windows, training schedules and honorarium rates — is set by each State Rural Livelihoods Mission and State Agriculture Department; interested women should always verify current terms with the local Bank Sakhi, Cluster Level Federation or block SRLM / agriculture office before acting.