The Economic Survey 2018-19 focused on adoption of ‘Zero Budget Natural Farming’ (ZBNF) in order to double the farmers’ income by the end of 2022. However, some of the critics have pointed out that the Government's policy of inclusion of ZBNF is unwise and imprudent.
BASIC PREMISE AND PILLARS OF ZNBF
The ZBNF, put forward by Subhash Palekar, focusses on farming without credit (Zero Budget) and Farming with Nature without using Chemicals (Natural Farming).
Basic Premise: Soil has all the necessary nutrients which could be made available through the intermediation of microorganisms; Against chemical fertilizers; low cost, low level of inputs and limited reliance on externally purchased inputs.
FOUR PILLARS OF ZBNF
- Jivamrita/jeevamrutha: Fermented microbial culture prepared using cow dung and urine to provides nutrients to the soil, acts as a catalytic agent to promote the activity of microorganisms in the soil.
- Bijamrita/beejamrutha: Protection of the young roots from various diseases through cow dung and urine.
- Mulching: Conservation of the soil moisture by covering the top layer of the soil with dried biomass, organic manure etc.
- Moisture: It challenges the basic notion that plants need more amount of water and instead focuses on conservation of soil moisture and promoting less irrigation.
Other important pillars are- Intercropping, Rainwater harvesting, Revival of the soils through earthworms etc.
Government's Initiatives to promote ZBNF: Under the RKVY-RAFTAAR and Paramaparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, States allowed to use their funds to promote the ZBNF.
BENEFITS
- Reduce the input costs responsible for present agrarian distress.
- Reduce the dependence of the farmers on the credit responsible for the debt trap.
- Enhancement in the soil fertility.
- Optimum utilization of water and reduce water consumption (85%)
- Promote diversification of the agriculture- towards other crops and towards livestock rearing. This can also lead to reduction in the risks and enhance non-farm income.
- Enhance the farmers’ income in the long term.
CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS
A group of agricultural experts from the Natural Academy of agricultural sciences (NAAS) have questioned ZBNF on multiple grounds.
- Lack of Independent and Scientific studies to validate the claim that the yields through the ZBNF are much higher.
- Based on Unscientific Premise since it erroneously assumes that the soils have all the necessary ingredients
- One-Size fits all approach: In some regions of the country, the soils are either acidic or saline and, in some regions, the fertility of the soil has reduced due to heavy metal pollution.
- Flawed Nutrient Management: The ZBNF believes that plants obtain 98.5% of the nutrients from the air and the remaining 1.5% from the Soil. The nutrients cannot be made available only through cow dung and urine.
- Incurs costs: Not essentially "Zero Budget" since some of the inputs need to be purchased. Agricultural inputs which may have implicit cost such as the imputed value of family labour not considered.
According to experts, replacing all farming with ZBNF could decrease crop production by 50% and thus severely affect both food security as well as income of farmers. Hence, the Government must adopt evidence-based approach and must not hastily promote ZBNF without multi-agroclimatic location studies, and scientific validation of long-term impact and viability of ZBNF.