With the 1990s dawning in, the country was swept away with the unconventional and promising rewards of the Green Revolution. In the backdrop of the agrarian crisis, where half of the country’s population depended on the agricultural sector for their livelihood, rural indebtedness was on a constant rise. On the other hand, the productivity of the labour force engaged was declining.
Before the onset of The Green Revolution, the country’s agriculture sector witnessed a major transition. It shifted focus from subsistence to commercial farming. Even though this transition helped the country to attain self-sufficiency and nutritional security of the growing population, it came at the cost of natural resources. The pressure imposed on the limited natural resources took a significant negative turn.
In the backdrop of such negative implications, the need for alternative cost-efficient farming methods arose. The Indian agriculture scientist and a Padma Shree awardee, Subhash Palekar, propounded the alternative farming method of “Zero-Budget Natural Farming”. He was swift in noticing the perils behind the guise of the Green Revolution. He rejected the extensive use of chemical fertilizers and High-yield variety seeds to obtain higher productivity
Palekar was born in 1949, to a family of farmers in a small village in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. Inclined towards studying agriculture, he completed his bachelor’s programme in Agriculture. Having studied chemical farming, he then extended help to his father and practiced chemical farming on their farm. For a long time, the output saw a continuous rise. The extensive use of chemicals resulted in high productivity and therefore the family incorporated it for almost a decade long. However, by the late 1980s, Palekar witnessed a decline in land productivity along with adverse effects on soil health. He then started his quest for extensive and lengthy research on the alternate methods of farming and concluded with the Zero-Budget Natural Farming
Finding its roots in the Neo-Gandhian philosophy of self-reliance and autonomy, the concept promotes sustainable farming methods. It gathered momentum in the Southern states of the country and was supported by a large number of NGOs. Currently, in the Northern states of the country, the natural farming drive is run under the name of Subhash Palekar Natural Farming for both agricultural and horticulture crops. Practiced in various pockets of the country, it is a low-cost climate-resilient type farming method that encourages farmers to use locally sourced inputs, eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Palekar suggested the existence of a self-nourishing, self-developing, and self-reliant natural system in the forests, by which all the vegetation and ecosystem exist and thrives without any external human intervention. He suggested that this system could be replicated in the farmlands as against the techniques of the Green Revolution. He also called this method “Spiritual Farming”, capable of regenerating by deriving energy from nature and minimal human interference.
The Input Management under the Zero-Budget Natural Farming is a four-fold approach:
Bijamrita- The first wheel focuses on the treatment of the seeds by using natural manure like cow dung and urine-based formulation. This protects the plants from fungus and soil-borne diseases. It also accelerates plant growth and good bacteria, improving overall soil health.
Jivamrita- The second wheel talks about soil inoculants. The application of microbial mixtures to multiply soil microbes. Palekar claims that the soil is vested with all the necessary nutrients that are required for growth without the support of external nutrients. Therefore, using such a technique the farmer will be able to unlock the soil’s existing nutrients.
Acchadana (Mulching)- The third wheel includes covering the topsoil with crop residues or applying a layer of organic material to the soil surface to prevent water evaporation. This also helps in the formation of soil humus.
Waaphasa- The fourth wheel emphasizes soil aeration through a favorable microclimate in the soil. For insect and pest management, he encourages the use of various decoctions made with cow dung, cow urine lilac, and green chilies.
Palekar promotes a microclimatic condition around the roots, which is created by a mix of air and water molecules to avoid overwatering, which is ideal for rain-fed and water-scarce areas. He states input management as the prime factor in reducing the cost of cultivation. Increasing functional biodiversity by preparing crop combinations is also proposed by Palekar in his method.
The Subhash Palekar Natural Farming method is adopted vastly and is seen on a gradual rise. It beats the graving concern of the negative impact of conventional farming methods on health. Samples of fruits and vegetables have been found to have insecticides and fungicide residue more than the permissible limits. It does not only bring down the cost of cultivation drastically but also ensures the produce is nutritious and healthy. It also shields the farmers of the country against natural calamities and saves them from the vicious cycle of poverty and indebtedness. Farmers can be financially independent and self-sustainable.
Written by Poonam Chatterjee
Week 41 October 2021
