Shyam, D M and Dixit, S and Nune, R and Gajanan, S and Chander, G (2020) Zero Budget Natural Farming - An empirical analysis. Green Farming, 10 (6). pp. 661-667. ISSN 0974-0775
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Abstract
Lately, there have been discussions around natural farming. This was reinforced when India's Finance Minister during the budget session in July 2019 responded to farmers' distress, thus: “we shall go back to basics on one count : zero-budget farming . It is not a new thing. We need to replicate this innovative model”. Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) with no external inputs of any sort, including finance, has been advocated for decades by Padma Shri awardee Subhash Palekar. The Government of Andhra Pradesh piloted it in select blocks of 13 districts since 2015-16, where rice is the staple food and it occupies 30% of the cropped area. Under ZBNF, Ghanamrutham and Jeevamrutham (liquid) are the two primary natural inputs that are considered substitutes for chemical fertilizers. Around 1.6 lakh farmers were practicing it by the end of 2018, and the government aims to bring about five lakh farmers under it by 2024. An estimated 15,000 crore is what it will take to scale it up to the entire state in the next few years. In this context, a study was conducted to assess whether the practice has reduced the cost of production and doubled farmer incomes. ZBNF was found to have partially improved soil health compared to lands of non-adopters possibly due to building the heterotrophic microbial communities and flora quickly. Many studies proved that the capacity to improve the soil microbes in N fixation and P solubalization was improved with the application of organic manures with cow urine. The ability to produce chemical-free food and reduce fertilizer and pesticide cost was cited by the farmers as the primary reason for the adoption of ZBNF. However, though there is acceptance of the technology, advocacy is possible only if the farmer's net returns and impact on the price paid by the consumer are well documented.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | RP-Resilient Dryland Systems |
| CRP: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Adoption, Ghanamrutham, Impact of adoption, Jeevamrutham, Paddy, ZBNF |
| Subjects: | Others > Rice |
| Depositing User: | Mr Nagaraju T |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Sep 2024 03:57 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Sep 2024 03:57 |
| URI: | http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/12805 |
| Official URL: | https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.555... |
| Projects: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Funders: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Acknowledgement: | UNSPECIFIED |
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