Context: The Finance Ministry has allocated Rs 365.64 crore for the National Mission on Natural Farming for 2024-25. Over the next three years, we will facilitate one crore farmers to adopt natural farming. For this, 10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres will be set up.

What is Natural Farming?

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

• Natural Farming is a sustainable agricultural practice that emphasizes chemical-free farming, relying on indigenous cows and locally available resources. 

• It avoids chemical fertilizers and pesticides, promoting traditional methods that free farmers from the need for external inputs. This approach focuses on:

• Biomass Mulching: Covering soil with organic matter to retain moisture, improve soil health, and suppress weeds.

• Desi Cow Dung-Urine Formulations: Using formulations made from the dung and urine of indigenous cows to fertilize the soil and manage pests.

• Natural Nutrient Cycling: Enhancing the natural processes that recycle nutrients within the soil.

National Mission on Natural Farming

• The Government has formulated National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) as a separate and independent scheme by up-scaling the Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP) from 2023-24.

• To motivate farmers to adopt natural farming and to enhance the reach of natural farming, 1 crore farmers across the country will be initiated into natural farming supported by certification and branding. 

• Implementation will be through scientific institutions and willing gram panchayats. 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centers will be established.

Challenges to Natural Farming

• Yields drop: India’s first organic state, Sikkim, has started seeing decline in its yields after a few years.

• Conviction among Policy Makers: As of now, policy makers fear for the food security of the nation and are non-committal on any major changes in the agriculture sector. 

• Resistance by the Chemical inputs-based industry: The chemical-based farming has a strong backing in the form of multi-million-dollar agro-chemical industry, which has fought tooth and nail to sustain the application of chemicals in agriculture.

• Knowledge and Training: Farmers need specialized knowledge and training to implement natural farming techniques effectively. This includes understanding soil health, crop rotation, companion planting, and natural pest management strategies.

• Economic Viability: The economic viability of natural farming can be uncertain. Higher labor costs, lower yields, and the potential for crop failures impacts profitability.

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZNBF)

• It means raising crops without using any fertilizers and pesticides or any other external materials. The word Zero Budget refers to the zero cost of production of all crops. 

• The concept was promoted by SubhashPalekar, in the mid-1990s as an alternative to the Green Revolution’s methods.

• ZBNF helps in retaining soil fertility, to ensure a chemical free agriculture and ensure low cost of production (zero cost) and thereby enhancing the farmers income.

Four main elements and models of ZNBF

• Bijamrita: The seeds are treated with formulations prepared using cow dung and cow urine from native cow species.

• Jiwamrita/Jeevamrutha: It is a fermented microbial culture obtained from cow dung, urine, jaggery, pulse flour and uncontaminated soil. When applied to soil, it adds nutrients to it, besides acting as a catalytic agent to promote the activity of microorganisms and earthworms in the soil.

• Acchadana/Mulching: Mulching is the process of covering the top soil with crop wastes/organic waste or with cover crops.

• Waaphasa/Moisture (Soil Aeration): Good aeration is required in the soil for plant growth and development.

Road Ahead

• Now is the time when India moves forward on the path of natural farming and takes full advantage of the global opportunities that are emerging.

• Natural farming will reduce dependency on purchased inputs and will help to ease smallholder farmers from credit burden.