Agriculture

KEY POINTS

Natural farming (NF)

·        Natural farming is a system where the laws of nature are applied to agricultural practices.

How it differs from organic farming (OF)?

·        In OF, organic fertilizers and manures like compost, vermicompost, and cow dung manure are added to farmlands from external sources.

·        In NF, neither chemical nor organic fertilizers are added to the soil.

·        In fact, no external fertilizers are added to soil or give to plants whatsoever.

·        In NF, decomposition of organic matter by microbes and earthworms is encouraged right on the soil surface itself, which gradually adds nutrition in the soil, over the period.

·        OF still requires basic agro practices like plowing, tilting, mixing of manures, weeding, etc. to be performed.

·        In NF, there no plowing, no tilting of soil and no fertilizers, and no weeding is done just the way it would be in natural ecosystems.

·        OF is still expensive due to the requirement of bulk manures, and it has an ecological impact on surrounding environments.

·        But, NF is an extremely low-cost farming method, completely molding with local biodiversity.

·        There are many working models of NF all over the world, the zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) is the most popular model in India.

Is ZBNF a sustainable model?

Benefits

·        In ZBNF, yields of various cash and food crops have been found to be significantly higher.

·        Input costs are near zero as no fertilizers and pesticides are used. Profits in most areas under ZBNF were from higher yield and lower inputs.

·        Model ZBNF farms were able to withstand drought and flooding – a serious & emerging concerns with regard to climate change.

·        Planting multiple crops and border crops on same field provides varied income and nutrient sources.

·        The programme can have a positive effect on many of the sustainable development goals.

·        Overall, there is

a)     reduced use of water and electricity

b)     improved health of farmers

c)      flourishing of local ecosystems and biodiversity

d)     no toxic chemical residues in the environment

e)     improvements in soil, biodiversity, livelihoods, water

f)       climate resilience

g)     women’s empowerment and nutrition

·        Andhra Pradesh model – The drought-prone Rayalaseema region (Andhra Pradesh) is reportedly seeing promising changes in farms with the ZBNF.

·        It could therefore serve as a workable model for replication.