New Delhi. Rs. 470.56 crore has been released to various States and Union Territories for the development of agriculture under Macro Management of Agriculture (MMA) scheme during 2010-11 as on 30.6.2010. Total allocation for the current financial year is to the tune Rs. 1085.16 crore.

During 2009-10, a sum of Rs.930 crore was provided for the implementation of the revised Macro-Management of Agriculture scheme.

The scheme was launched in 2000-01 by integrating 27 centrally sponsored schemes moving away from a programmatic to a macro management mode of assistance to the States in the form of Work Plans prepared by the States and implemented in a spirit of partnership with the States.

In 2008-09, the scheme was revised to improve its efficacy in supplementing and complementing the efforts of the States towards enhancement of agricultural production and productivity, in the larger context of broad based inclusive growth highlighted in the 11th Five Year Plan Document as well as the National Policy on Farmers, 2007. The role of the scheme was redefined to avoid overlapping and duplication of efforts and to make it more relevant to the present agriculture scenario in the States to achieve the basic objective of food security and to improve the livelihood system for rural masses.

The revised scheme comprises 10 sub-schemes relating to crop production and natural resource management. These include integrated cereal development programmes in rice, wheat, coarse cereals based cropping system areas, integrated development programmes for pulses and oilseeds and sustainable development of sugarcane based copping system, balanced and integrated use of fertilizers, promotion of mechanization of agriculture among small farmers, national watershed development project for rain-fed areas, soil conservation and reclamation and development of alkali soils.