Contaxt-Recently agricultural scientists have criticised the government’s focus on promoting zero budget natural farming (ZBNF).

Reason for criticism

• Agricultural scientist argued that there is lack of any data, studies or experiments on the effectiveness of ZBNF for it to be considered a feasible technological option.
• The government should not needlessly invest capital and human resources towards promoting ZBNF

What is zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) ?

• ZBNF is a technique of farming developed by a Vidarbha based social activist, Subhash Palekar, who claims that between 98 and 98.5% of nutrients that a crop needs are ‘taken from air, water and solar energy’.
• The rest, according to Palekar, are present in the soil and can be utilised if micro-organisms are enabled to act on them.
• To allow micro-organisms to do their job, farmer must not spray fertilisers and insecticides. Instead, Palekar prescribes, that farmers use cow dung, cow urine and neem as manure, fertilisers and pesticides

The four pillars of ZNBF

1. Jivamrita/jeevamrutha is a fermented microbial culture. It provides nutrients, but most importantly, acts as a catalytic agent that promotes the activity of microorganisms in the soil, as well as increases earthworm activity; During the 48 hour fermentation process, the aerobic and anaerobic bacteria present in the cow dung and urine multiply as they eat up organic ingredients (like pulse flour).

• Jeevamrutha Application Apply the jeevamrutha to the crops twice a month in the irrigation water or as a 10% foliar spray.

2. Bijamrita/beejamrutha is a treatment used for seeds, seedlings or any planting material. Bijamrita is effective in protecting young roots from fungus as well as from soil-borne and seedborne diseases that commonly affect plants after the monsoon period. It is composed of similar ingredients as jeevamrutha - local cow dung, a powerful natural fungicide, and cow urine, a strong anti-bacterial liquid, lime, soil.

• Bijamrita Application as a seed treatment Add Bijamrita to the seeds of any crop: coat them, mixing by hand; dry them well and use them for sowing. For leguminous seeds, just dip them quickly and let them dry.

3. Acchadana - Mulching. According to Palekar, there are three types of mulching:

• a. Soil Mulch: This protects topsoil during cultivation and does not destroy it by tilling. It promotes aeration and water retention in the soil. Palekar suggests avoiding deep ploughing.
• b. Straw Mulch: Straw material usually refers to the dried biomass waste of previous crops, but as Palekar suggests, it can be composed of the dead material of any living being (plants, animals, etc). Palekar's approach to soil fertility is very simple – provide dry organic material which will decompose and form humus through the activity of the soil biota which is activated by microbial cultures.
• c. Live Mulch (symbiotic intercrops and mixed crops): According to Palekar, it is essential to develop multiple cropping patterns of monocotyledons (monocots; Monocotyledons seedlings have one seed leaf) and dicotyledons (dicots; Dicotyledons seedlings have two seed leaves) grown in the same field, to supply all essential elements to the soil and crops. For instance, legumes are of the dicot group and are nitrogen-fixing plants. Monocots such as rice and wheat supply other elements like potash, phosphate and sulphur.

4. Whapasa - moisture: Palekar challenges the idea that plant roots need a lot of water, thus countering the over reliance on irrigation in green revolution farming. According to him, what roots need is water vapor. Whapasa is the condition where there are both air molecules and water molecules present in the soil, and he encourages reducing irrigation, irrigating only at noon, in alternate furrows ZBNF farmers report a significant decline in need for irrigation in ZBNF.

Other important principles of ZBNF 

• Intercropping – This is primarily how ZBNF gets its “Zero Budget” name. It doesn’t mean that the farmer is going to have no costs at all, but rather that any costs will be compensated for by income from intercrops, making farming a close to zero budget activity. Palekar explains in detail the crop and tree associations that work well for the south Asian context.
• Contours and bunds – To preserve rain water, Palekar explains in detail how to make the contours and bunds, which promote maximum efficacy for different crops.
• Local species of earthworms. Palekar opposes the use of vermicompost. He claims that the revival of local deep soil earthworms through increased organic matter is most recommended.
• Cow dung- Accroding to Palekar, dung from the Bos indicus (humped cow) is most beneficial and has the highest concentrations of micro-organisms as compared to European cow breeds such as Holstein. The entire ZBNF method is centred on the Indian cow, which historically has been part of Indian rural life.

Benefits of ZBNF?

• In ZBNF, yields of various cash and food crops have been found to be significantly higher.E.g. yields from ZBNF plots were found on average to be 11% higher for cotton than in non-ZBNF plots.
• The yield for Guli ragi (ZBNF) was 40% higher than non-ZBNF.
• 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.
• Notably these are the serious emerging concerns with regard to climate change.
• Planting multiple crops and border crops on same field provides varied income and nutrient sources.