Nature-based, zero budget farming alone can help solve agrarian crisis: expert

Nature-based, zero budget farming alone without the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides can solve the many and complex problems leading to the agrarian crisis in the country. It is abundantly evident now that the present approach of the planners and policy-makers will do no good, according to Subhash Palekar, the proponent of such farming.

Cultivation cost up He told reporters here on Sunday that a two-day workshop was being organised here from Monday to educate farmers in the north-coastal AP districts about such methods of farming.

Explaining the concept, Palekar said one of the major problems after the so-called green revolution was that the cost of cultivation had risen sharply as the farmer had to depend on outside sources for all inputs from seeds to fertilisers and other requisites.

With the ever-increasing input prices, farming had become unremunerative in spite of the initial spurt in yields. Subsequently, the yields had also touched a plateau and the agricultural sector was mired in a deep crisis, leading to suicides of farmers.

Greenhouse gas emission Further, Palekar said, a late realisation had dawned on the policy-makers that chemical farming was contributing substantially, as much as the industrial sector, to the emission of greenhouse gases and all consequent ill-effects such as global warming.

He said “Jeevamrutam” should be prepared with cow’s urine and dung, and black jaggery and a few other locally available materials and water.

It can be used instead of chemical fertilisers and pesticides and “its efficacy has been proved in all the agro-climatic zones of the country.

Increase in yield Thousands of farmers across the country, including Andhra Pradesh, were employing the method of cultivation, reducing the costs and increasing the yields. Farmers would have to make use of mulching and a few other such methods and they can easily be taught.

He said it was called zero budget farming as the farmer can recoup the cost of cultivation through the inter crops alone and the main crop would be a bonus to him or her.