Mission on Sustainable Dryland Agriculture (MSDA)
Develops rainfed dryland in roughly 2,500-acre clusters — millets, pulses and oilseeds, land and moisture treatment, FPOs and custom hiring — so dry farming earns more.
Run by: Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (Agriculture / DPAP), Government of Tamil Nadu
- Sanctioned
- G.O. Ms No.14, 27 Jan 2017
- Outlay
- ~₹802.90 crore (2016-17 to 2019-20)
- Clusters
- 1,000 dryland clusters, ~2,500 acres each
- Focus crops
- Millets, pulses, oilseeds
Quick Summary
The key points from this page in about two minutes — read it or have it read aloud.
Quick Summary
The Mission on Sustainable Dryland Agriculture is Tamil Nadu's programme for the rainfed, un-irrigated farmland that gets left out when schemes are built around canal or borewell command areas. Most of the state's millets, pulses and oilseeds grow on this dryland, and it is exactly where a bad monsoon hits hardest. Instead of helping scattered individual plots, the mission treats a whole block of dryland — about 2,500 acres — as one cluster and works on it together.
Within a cluster, the mission does several things at once: comprehensive land and soil-moisture treatment to hold what little rain falls, a shift to hardier millet, pulse and oilseed varieties, value addition so the produce earns more, strengthening of Farmer Producer Organisations, custom hiring centres so small farmers can reach machinery, and allied activity like animal husbandry to spread risk. The thinking is that a dryland farmer's income is limited less by any one input than by the whole system around rainfed farming being weak.
For a farmer, the mission is not an individual online application so much as being inside a selected cluster: the Agriculture Department forms dryland clusters and the support flows to the farmers in them. So the practical step is to check with your Block / Assistant Director of Agriculture whether your village falls in an MSDA cluster and what the current year's activities are, since the programme runs in phases over several years.
Overview
The Mission on Sustainable Dryland Agriculture was announced in the Tamil Nadu Budget Speech for 2016-17 and sanctioned by Government Order G.O. (Ms) No. 14 of the Agriculture (DPAP) Department, dated 27 January 2017. It carried a total cost of about ₹802.90 crore for the period 2016-17 to 2019-20, and was designed in a "mission mode", cluster-based approach rather than as a scattered input subsidy.
The plan was to form 1,000 dryland clusters across the state over four years — 200 in the first year and about 400 in each of the next two — with each cluster covering roughly 2,500 acres, so the mission targets on the order of 25 lakh acres of dryland in all. The focus crops are the ones dryland actually grows: millets, pulses and oilseeds. Within a cluster the activities include comprehensive land development and soil-moisture conservation, improved seed, value addition, strengthening of Farmer Producer Organisations, custom hiring centres, and allied activity such as animal husbandry.
The programme was later carried forward — in 2019-20 a further allocation was reported to add clusters and reach more dryland farmers. It should not be confused with the separate Chief Minister's Dryland Development Mission announced in the 2022-23 budget, which is a later, differently-sized programme. For current-year activity and whether your area is in a cluster, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare is the source (tnagrisnet.tn.gov.in).
What you get
The benefit as the state notifies it — nothing here is an estimate.
- Comprehensive land development and soil-moisture conservation on rainfed dryland.
- Improved millet, pulse and oilseed seed suited to dry conditions.
- Custom hiring centres so small dryland farmers can reach machinery.
- Stronger Farmer Producer Organisations, value addition and allied activity like animal husbandry to spread risk.
Who is eligible
State schemes usually state their criteria as prose rather than a checklist. This is that prose, unpacked — the department’s verification is what decides.
You qualify if
- Dryland (rainfed, un-irrigated) farmer in Tamil Nadu
- Cultivating land that falls within a selected MSDA dryland cluster
- Growing dryland crops — millets, pulses or oilseeds
- Member / willing member of the cluster's Farmer Producer Organisation
Documents you need
Have these ready before you start — most rejections are a missing paper, not a missing right.
- Aadhaar card
- Land record (patta / chitta)
- Bank passbook
- FPO / cluster membership where applicable
How to apply
Fewer steps than a central scheme, and usually one office rather than a portal.
- 1
Check if your area is in a cluster
Ask your Block / Assistant Director of Agriculture whether your village falls within an MSDA dryland cluster, and what this year's activities are.
- 2
Join the cluster / FPO activity
Support flows through the cluster — land treatment, seed, custom hiring and FPO strengthening. Take part through the local Agriculture office and the cluster FPO.
- 3
Use the shared infrastructure
Use the custom hiring centre and value-addition / marketing links set up for your cluster.
If something goes wrong
Missing from the list, or payment stuck — here is the channel the department itself publishes for it.
- For your area being left out of a cluster, or support announced for the cluster not reaching you, raise it with your Block / Assistant Director of Agriculture and the Joint Director of Agriculture for the district, Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Tamil Nadu (tnagrisnet.tn.gov.in).
- Beyond the department, use the Tamil Nadu CM Helpline "Mudhalvarin Mugavari" — 1100 (7am–10pm), cmhelpline.tnega.org, or the "CMHelpline Citizen" app. Keep your Aadhaar or family card number ready, as it is needed to register a grievance.
Frequently asked questions
What is a "dryland cluster"?
A block of rainfed, un-irrigated farmland of about 2,500 acres treated as one unit. The mission works on a whole cluster together — land and moisture treatment, seed, FPOs, custom hiring — rather than helping scattered individual plots.
Which crops does MSDA support?
The crops dryland actually grows — millets, pulses and oilseeds. The mission was framed to raise their production and productivity on rainfed land.
Is this a cash subsidy to my account?
No. MSDA is cluster development — land treatment, improved seed, custom hiring centres, FPO strengthening and value addition reach the farmers inside a selected cluster. The benefit is the system around dry farming being improved, not a fixed cash transfer.
How big is the mission?
It was sanctioned by G.O. (Ms) No. 14 dated 27 January 2017 at about ₹802.90 crore for 2016-17 to 2019-20, to form 1,000 clusters of roughly 2,500 acres each — on the order of 25 lakh acres of dryland.
Is MSDA the same as the Chief Minister's Dryland Development Mission?
No. The Chief Minister's Dryland Development Mission is a separate, later programme announced in the 2022-23 budget. MSDA is the earlier 2016-17 mission under G.O. Ms No. 14.
How do I take part?
Check with your Block / Assistant Director of Agriculture whether your village is in an MSDA cluster and what the current-year activities are, then join through the local Agriculture office and the cluster FPO.
Facts checked against www.tnagrisnet.tn.gov.in on 8 October 2026. editorial policy.