Context: Recently, Prime Minister Addressed a Natural Farming Conclave, where he urged farmers to take up Natural Farming.

Natural Farming

• It is defined as a “chemical- free farming and livestock based”.

• Soundly grounded in agro-ecology, it is a diversified farming system that integrates crops, trees and livestock, allowing the optimum use of functional biodiversity.

• It holds the promise of enhancing farmers’ income while delivering many other benefits, such as restoration of soil fertility and environmental health, and mitigating and/or reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

• This farming approach was introduced by Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer and philosopher, in his 1975 book The One-Straw Revolution.

• Internationally, Natural Farming is considered a form of regenerative agriculture—a prominent strategy to save the planet.

• In India, Natural farming is promoted as Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati Programme (BPKP) under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).

• BPKP is aimed at promoting traditional indigenous practices which reduce externally purchased inputs.

Significance of Natural farming

Sustainability

• Natural farming makes use of naturally available ingredients as fertilizers and insecticides.

• The avoidance of chemical inputs in the case of natural farming will help protect the quality of the soil and its productivity.

Healthy food option

• Chemical free produce will be available for consumption.

Economic prosperity

• The cost incurred in natural farming is lower for the farmers. Also given the fact that products of natural farming get higher prices in the market, the farmers will have higher incomes from agricultural activities.

Environment Conservation

• It ensures better soil biology, improved agrobiodiversity and a more judicious usage of water with much smaller carbon and nitrogen footprints.

Livestock Sustainability

• The integration of livestock in the farming system plays an important role in Natural farming and helps in restoring the ecosystem. Eco Friendly bio-inputs, such as Jivamrit and Beejamrit, are prepared from cow dung and urine, and other natural products.

Issues Related to Natural Farming

Decline in Yields

• Sikkim (India's first organic state), has seen some decline in yields following conversion to organic farming.

• Many farmers have reverted to conventional farming after seeing their ZBNF ( Zero-Budget Natural Farming) returns drop after a few years.

Unable to Boost Productivity and Income

• While ZBNF has definitely helped preserve soil fertility, its role in boosting productivity and farmers’ income isn’t conclusive yet.

Lack of Availability of Natural Inputs

• An often-cited barrier by farmers in transitioning to chemical-free agriculture is the lack of readily available natural inputs. Not every farmer has the time, patience, or labour to develop their own inputs.

Nutrient Deficiencies

• A study in Nature Sustainability states that while the nutrient value of the natural inputs is similar to the chemical ones used in low-input farms (farms using lower quantities of fertilisers and pesticides), it is less in high-input farms.

• When such nutrient deficiencies are aggregated at a large scale, it might hamper the yield over the years, potentially leading to food security concerns.

Measures taken in the realm of natural farming

• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Scheme

• Namami Gange project

• Quality assurance system for certification of produce of natural farming