The push for Zero Budget Natural Farming

What is zero budget natural farming? What are the pros and cons of this method?

Zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) is back on top of the Government's agricultural agenda, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to highlight it at a national conclave in Gujarat on Thursday. At an event in Varanasi on Tuesday, he called for the method to become a mass movement. The Centre has sanctioned support for converting four lakh additional hectares of crop land in eight States to using ZBNF techniques this year. This is meant to provide a showcase for their benefits although scientific studies on the method have not yet been completed, according to Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal.

Zero budget natural farming is a method of chemical-free agriculture drawing from traditional Indian practices. It was originally promoted by agriculturist and Padma Shri recipient Subhash Palekar, who developed it in the mid-1990s as an alternative to the Green Revolution’s methods driven by chemical fertilizers, pesticides and intensive irrigation. He argued that the rising cost of these external inputs was a leading cause of indebtedness and suicide among farmers, while the impact of chemicals on the environment and on long-term fertility was devastating. Without the need to spend money on these inputs — or take loans to buy them — the cost of production could be reduced and farming made into a “zero budget” exercise, breaking the debt cycle for many small farmers.