Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) practised by Subhash Palekar was recently proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the recent Union budget 2019. However, the farming community and experts from the State feel that undertaking zero budget farming in totality is not possible and it may risk the food security of the large population of the country.
Police Sub-Inspector turned farmer Swati Sh inghade of Baramati, who has also won DD Mahila Kisan Award is practising organic farming, urged calling natural farming instead of zero budget. She said, “It’s better to call it as natural farming instead of zero budget because as it is not free from investment However, with the impact of climate change being evident everywhere, it is not easy that we can go back to traditional farming or zero budget. At present, we do not have the same quality of soil and climatic condition what we had earlier.”
Sursingh Pawar, a farmer from Rahuri, feels that zero budget farming is not possible in India due to different climatic conditions. He said, “Zero Budget farming is not possible at all in India as we have different soil types, climatic conditions and water availability. Especially in a state like Maharashtra, this kind of farming is not possible. This zero-budget farming model says that it requires minimum inputs and it gives maximum outputs. However, this is not possible as the crop needs insecticides and pesticides to control the infestation of pests which is not possible with natural methods.”
He further said, “We have a large population and if farmers start practising zero budget farming, how will they be able to provide food to the people of the country as the production is also less in zero budget. When it has become so difficult for the farmers to recover their production cost? How will they manage and sustain with this kind of farming which will not be able to give good yield to them?”
Echoing the same sentiments, experts also feel that going back to basic may not produce enough food for the population. Dr Venkat Mayande, former Vice-Chancellor, Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola said, “Zero budget farming is basically going back to the traditional farming before green revolution. Can we afford to go back to that kind of farming when we have a population of 135 crore to feed? It is low productive farming and we cannot afford it. It can be a threat to the food security of our people.”
Dr Rajaram Deshmukh, former Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Phule Krushi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri feels that farming cannot be zero budget as it requires some kind of investment. He said, “Even naturally available manure involves some kind of budget, If you want neemboli ark, you need manpower to extract it, so how can it be zero budget? However, if the government wants to implement this, they should ensure that there is availability of natural fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides. This should also come with the guarantee that production should not be affected which is likely to happen as yield is low. It will be like going back to 1960s and importing all food grains.”
Pawar, who practices integrated farming in Rahuri, finds it as the best method to adopt all over the country seeing the different weather patterns and soil condition. He said, ”It is important to make amendments in this model and government should implement integrated farming which is a mix of natural as well as chemical. 100 per cent chemical farming is also not good for soil health while integrated farming ensures that both methods are adopted and the chemicals are added in the quantity prescribed and if you follow this kind of farming there will not be any residue and production will also be good.”
The experts also laid emphasis on integrated farming with more usage of organic manure and fewer chemical inputs.
Mayande said, “The farming in current scenario which we recommend is modern farming which is integrated farming which involves the usage of more organic manure and less chemical inputs.”
Deshmukh also recommend integrated farming and said, “I support organic farming without any reduction in yield. However, we recommend integrated farming which involves more organic input so there is less chemical residue in the produce.”
ZBNF is not an effective method, says farmer from Parbhani
P ratap Kale, a farmer from Parbhani who had undertaken zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) for a year in 2015, shared his experience with Sakal Times. Kale shared that he had to face low yield and moreover, he failed to meet even the cost of production.
Kale said, “I am doing farming since last 15 years and I have heard about zero budget farming which requires zero investment and gives farmers, a good produce. I was very excited as the investment was really less so I decided to practise this kind of farming on my land in 2015.”
Kale who does farming of soyabean, cotton and sweet lime, practised ZBNF on two-acre of land on crops such as soyabean and cotton. He said, “I had sown soyabean on one acre of land while cotton on another acre and also used the main technique of zero budget farming of using Jeevamrut, Beejaamrut, Nimboli Ark and Brahmastra.”
“I had invested in seeds, sowing and controlling of pest while doing zero budget farming but the yield was not good. Normally, in one acre of land, if I use chemical fertilisers for soyabean, it gives me around 10 to 12 quintals while in zero budget, I got only two quintals. Even in cotton also, the total production was around 2.5 quintal per acre while normally I get a yield of 14 to 15 quintals,’’ he said.
Kale was unable to get good yield and even incurred a loss as he was not able to recover his production cost.
He said, “It was not zero budget farming as it is not possible to do zero budget because you have to spend money on production work like seeds, you need labour for sowing and even after spending so much money, the production is less and even production cost was also not recovered. As a farmer, I did not find it profitable. Hence, I again switched to the earlier style of farming.”
Kale who currently practises organic, as well as chemical farming, feels that zero budget natural farming is not possible and government should focus on providing better facilities to farmers to increase their income.
pratap kale said, “There are lack of good facilities like electricity and water for the farmers in the villages. The Central and State government should focus on providing better technologies to farmers to increase their productivity. They should also provide a good market for the farmers’ produce and middlemen who exploit farmers should be removed.”
‘Proper implementation of ZBNF technique yields good results’
Dr Deepak Patil, a doctor turned farmer who is practising Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) for the past three years in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, feels that the technique should be implemented properly to get good results. He said, “It is important that the technique of zero budget is thoroughly used. Excessive use of chemical fertilisers damages the quality of the soil. Hence, it is important to implement the technique properly and give it some time so that the soil can retain its essential nutrients.”
He added that it is an excellent technique to double the income of farmers. He said, “PM Modi’s Mission to double the income of farmers by implementing zero budget farming is an good option.”
Dr Patil believes that zero budget farming gives good yield without investing much.
He said, “This gives us good yield and also the input cost is very less. Usually, in normal farming, there is monocropping (single crop), in such cases, there are chances of crops getting destroyed due to some natural calamity but in zero budget, there are multiple crops which can help the farmers. Use of pulses in intercropping in zero budget helps in nitrogen fixation of soil which in turn boosts creation of humus in the soil which eventually reduces the usage of water.”
He further said, “Many farmers sow the hybrid seed and use the technique of zero budget farming but it won’t give them results. You have to follow proper technique and give it some time to give you proper results.”
Explaining the importance of less investment, he said, “In zero budget you do intercrop so whatever you invest in your main crop you earn it through your intercrop hence, it is a zero budget.”
Patil, who cultivates simultaneously pulses, vegetables and cotton on his 18 acres of land by zero budget farming training, feel that it is important to produce quality food.
He said, “I get good produce as well as also there are customers who come and buy vegetables and pulses from me. I have customers who actually buy Tur Dal for Rs 150 per kg because Tur Dal grown naturally is healthier than the usual one you get in market which often causes acidity. People are ready to pay if they are getting quality products, so it will eventually help farmers.”
Talking about the quantity of produce, Dr Patil said, “It’s not that we have become self-sufficient after Green Revolution. We still import a lot of food grains so why not produce quality products which are healthier for our people?”
We can’t recommend ZBNF to the farmers without thorough research: Viswanatha
“This Zero Budget farming is a misleading term. Farmers need seeds, machines and labourers, for which they have to spend money. So how can it be a zero budget if it involves investment?” asked Dr KP Viswanatha, Vice-Chancellor, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri while speaking to Sakal Times on Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF).
He added that, Zero Budget farming is a new term and requires research before recommending it to farmers.
He said, “We know organic farming but Zero Budget farming is a new term for all the scientists here. Suddenly one person comes and gives you a term but as a scientific university, we cannot accept it. All the four universities of the State are of same opinion that we should first research and study it. Once we have the data and the results then only we can recommend it to our farmers.”
According to Viswanatha, elements of Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) like Jeevaamrut and Beejamrut are not new and have already been in practice.
He said, “Things like Jeevamrut and Beejamrut are already part of organic farming and we have conducted research on the same. However, the term Zero Budget is definitely new to us.”
Recently, all the four universities of the State conducted a meeting with farmers and have found out that it is not feasible for the farming community.
He said, “We have conducted a meeting of 30 to 35 progressive farmers and requested them to give opinions about the zero budget farming. However, most of the farmers did not find it feasible except for the three farmers.
They too are unsure about the yield.”
Viswanatha said, “Therefore we believe that as a scientific university, we cannot recommend anything without research.
Usually, when we conduct research it takes two to three years to study and then test it on farmers’ fields and if we find this will really help our farmers, we will
recommend it to them but before that, we cannot ask them to switch over to this kind of farming.”
We have objection in calling it ZBNF: Dr Dhawan
“We have objection to call this Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) as we feel that there is a certain value of labour and inputs even if they produce it at farm level or if the families are working, it has a value and it cannot be called Zero Budget,” said Dr Ashok Dhawan, Vice Chancellor, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani while speaking to Sakal Times.
Dhawan mentioned that the concept of ZBNF is not new.
He said, “Zero Budget is not new as it talks about low inputs sustainable agriculture, we have been emphasising it to our farmers to reduce input cost at farm level. But it has a certain value and you can’t negate it and hence, the term is misleading.”
Dr Dhawan further said, “We are also not denying about the usefulness of organic recycling or inter-cropping. In fact, we have been asking our farmers to go for inter-cropping and also other farm enterprises such as bee keeping and dairy. So that output of one can be the input for the other and it helps in increasing the income of farmers.”
“To implement Zero Budget Natural Farming, we need to have some research and then only we can recommend it,” added Dhawan.
ZBNF finds its place as case study with FAO
The four pillars of ZNBF are
1) Jivamrita/ jeevamrutha - fermented microbial culture. It is prepared using 200 litres of water in a barrel. Add 10 kg fresh local cow dung and 5 to 10 litres aged cow urine, 2 kg jaggery, 2 kg pulse flour and handful of soil from the bund of the farm. The solution is set to ferment for 48 hours in shade.
2) Bijamrita/ beejamrutha is a treatment used for seeds, seedlings. Local cow dung and cow urine are used.
3) Acchadana - Mulching. According to Palekar, there are three types of mulching: a) Soil Mulch
b) Straw Mulch composed of the dead material c)Live Mulch (symbiotic intercrops and mixed crops)
4) Whapasa - moisture: Palekar says plant roots need water vapour.
Intercropping
