What is natural farming?
Natural farming is acknowledged on a global scale as a restorative agribusiness that stands out for its deliberate approach to environmental preservation. India was able to attain food security through the use of insecticides to avoid crop damage, high-yield seed varieties, and soil-nourishing fertilizers. But this was coupled by environmental harm from excessive fertilizer use, which affected ecological and human health.
Natural farming places a strong emphasis on using bio-input data that is readily available from nearby ecosystems and homesteads rather than obtaining it from other sources. It is also known by the names Synthetic Free Agriculture, Cow Premised Natural Farming, Expenses Incurred Natural Farming, Prakrithik Krishi, and Shashwat Kheti.
Natural farming: Description
“Pesticide-free farming” is the term used to characterize natural farming. With crops, trees, and livestock, it’s an agro-ecologically sound farming system that maximizes the use of functional biodiversity. Along with many additional advantages including improved air quality, soil fertility restoration, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, it promises to boost farmers’ revenue. This farming technique was made popular by Japanese rancher and professor Masanobu Fukuoka through his 1975 book The One-Straw Revolution. Globally, natural farming is acknowledged as a kind of restorative agriculture with a noteworthy environmental protection strategy.
What are the benefits of natural farming?
In actuality, farmers’ investments are decreased under Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) rather than their output. They may actually reinvest their full profits in their crops thanks to it. Usually, a significant amount of their revenue is spent on fertilizer. Soil damage is prevented with Zero Budget Spiritual Farming, which is another important benefit. Over time, chemical use renders the ground unusable for agriculture by rendering it infertile.
Natural farming: Principles
Crop production is used in accordance with natural farming principles in order to conform to the dynamic and well-matched production systems found in nature. These systems are the outcome of interactions between sunlight, moisture, soil, living organisms, and microbes in natural ecosystems. It is important to observe nature with a humble, clear, and pure mind rather than an arrogant sense of our own understanding. Moreover, cultivating quality crops requires the cultivation of a strong bond with the plants. A farmer is able to identify the conditions that crops and soil need in order to develop healthily and implement the necessary management techniques. The process of achieving optimally balanced health for all living things—including people, earth, crops, and livestock—is known as agricultural output.
The tenets of natural farming are as follows:
1. Raising the soil disturbs its natural equilibrium and promotes the growth of weeds. As a result, no-till farming is practiced.
2. Expanding straw over recently cultivated land and increasing ground cover can repress weeds, but neither tillage nor pesticides can completely eradicate them.
3. No chemical fertilizers – This results from the addition of fertilizers that promote plant growth but not soil development, which continues to deteriorate.
4. Because nature maintains a careful balance that prevents any one species from obtaining an edge, artificial pesticides are not necessary.
Natural farming: What distinguishes natural farming from other methods?
The foundation of modern agriculture is the idea that soil needs to be refreshed with chemical fertilizers, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, in order for crops to be consumed. Chemical use reduces the number of microorganisms and disrupts this natural process. Similar to this, organic farming replenishes the soil by adding organic manure, such cow dung. But because cow dung contains so little nitrogen, massive amounts need to be applied, which could be challenging for a farmer to coordinate. The foundation of natural farming is the theory that healthy soil biology can release nutrients that are otherwise absent from the soil, air, or water.
Natural farming: In Zero Budget Natural Farming, how are soil nutrients managed?
Locally, alcoholic fermentation of cow dung combined with cow urine, jaggery, and pulse flour is used to create a biostimulant based on cow dung. At about 400 kg per acre of land, the dung need is extremely minimal when compared to organic farming. Fermentation is predicted to register the highest bacterial populations in the soil when applied to fields, giving plants vital nutrients (Jivamrit). Other interventions are also used in this farming method. A stimulant made from cow dung is used to manage seeds; it shields young roots from fusarium and other plant and ground diseases (Beejamrit). To assist plants absorb carbon from the atmosphere and feed the soil, which acts as a carbon sponge, the fields are kept somewhat vegetated all year round.
Natural farming: What are the benefits of switching to sustainable agriculture?
1. Farmers that use a lot of synthetic pesticides and are small-scale and insignificant will gain the most from using this farming strategy.
2. Raising farmer income: While yields stay equivalent, chemical fertilisers can be replaced with ones that can provide product stimulation. This will result in 60–70% lower cultivation costs. In addition to softening the soil, natural farming enhances food flavor. The net income of farmers may rise as a result.
3. More flexible than organic farming: Natural farming is a more progressive process, while organic farming is more focused on certification. Natural farming does provide for some flexibility, though. Small farmers find it easier to transition as a result.
4. Benefit end users: Currently, food that contains chemical residues must be purchased by customers.Food that is safe and reasonably priced can be obtained through organic agriculture, even though certified organic products are more expensive. 5. Helps combat climate change: Natural farming not only helps farmers save money, but it also improves soil carbon fixation, which can help mitigate climate change. 6. Natural farming techniques and forest management can replenish and regreen the world’s terrain. Moreover, it can fulfill the requirements for both nutritional integrity and soil fertility.