Describe Zero Budget Natural Farming, its benefits & position of authorities on it

Natural farming is an ecological farming approach established by Masanobu Fukuoka (1913–2008), a

Japanese farmer and philosopher, introduced in his 1975 book The One-Straw Revolution. Indian pioneer,
Subhash Palekar (Padmashri for ZBNF) says that his method largely draws from ancient Indian farming
techniques, at the heart of which was a formulation called ‘Jiwamrita’ and one desi cow can nourish up to
30 acres per month.

Definition: Zero Budget Natural Farming, as the name implies, is a method of farming where the cost of
growing and harvesting plants is zero. This means that farmers need not purchase fertilizers and pesticides
in order to ensure the healthy growth of crops. It is a natural farming technique that uses biological
pesticides instead of chemical-based fertilizers. Farmers use earthworms, cow dung, urine, plants, human
excreta and such biological fertilizers for crop protection.

Why ZBNF: We do not witness profuse & natural growth like in forests in our farms. It is because the
micro-organisms that convert raw nutrients into easy-to-digest form have been destroyed by the use of
poisonous chemical fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides. Cultivation of soil by tractor has already proved
to be detrimental to these micro-organisms.

Major Inputs: Cow dung & urine from local cows has proven to be a miraculous cure to revive the fertility
and nutrient value of soil. One gram of cow dung is believed to have anywhere between 300 to 500 crore
beneficial micro-organisms. These micro-organisms decompose the dried biomass on the soil and convert
it into ready-to-use nutrients for plants.

How it is different from Organic Farming: In natural farming, neither chemical nor organic fertilizers are
added. Moreover, in natural farming there no plowing, no tilting of soil and no fertilizers, and no weeding
is done just the way it would be in natural ecosystems.

Four wheels of ZBNF

1. Bijamrita (Seed Treatment)

2. Jiwamrita (Microbial Culture)
3. Mulching
4. Waaphasa (Soil Aeration)

Stand of Central Govt: NITI Aayog for considering natural farming as a component of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas
Yojana and Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana. Moreover, NITI Aayog has also called for the scientific
validation of zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) technology be undertaken through multi-locational on-
the-field trials with farmers by Indian Council of Agricultural Research laboratories and State agriculture
universities. If found to be successful, an enabling institutional mechanism could be set up to promote
this technology so that Indian farmers would benefit.

Stand of HP Govt : Himachal Pradesh has also adopted this ZBNF model with a budgetary provision of Rs
25 crore for this fiscal to give it a practical shape. Governor of HP is an avid proponent of ZBNF & said
maintains that the challenge before us today is to double the income of farmers in such a way that fertility
of the soil improves along with an increase in production of the crops. It is not possible with chemical
fertilizers and pesticides. The only alternative with the farmers is to adopt ZBNF which is successfully
tested in the field.

Feedback by practitioners of ZBNF: A majority of practicing farmers have reported that by adopting ZBNF,
over time they saw improvements in yield, soil conservation, seed diversity, quality of produce, household
food autonomy, income, and health. Most experienced reduced farm expenses and a reduced need for
credit, one of the major problems plaguing Indian farmers.

References:

http://www.fao.org

https://www.dailypioneer.com

https://himachalwatcher.com

https://www.business-standard.com

https://www.indiatoday.in

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