Natural farming

Topic: Environment and Sustainable Development · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Natural farming is chemical-free farming that uses only inputs made on the farm itself, mainly from the farmer's own cow (dung and urine), along with natural processes in the soil. The farmer buys no fertiliser, pesticide or other input from the market.

It matters because it aims to cut farmers' input costs and repair soil damaged by decades of chemical use. The Government of India is now expanding it through the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) [1].

Explanation

How it works

• Core rule: no bought inputs.
• There are no chemical fertilisers and no chemical pesticides.
• There are not even bought organic inputs.

• Everything is made on the farm from cow dung, cow urine, crop residue and local materials.

• The soil does the work.

• Farm-made cultures add useful microbes (tiny living things such as bacteria) to the soil.
• These microbes break down organic matter and release nutrients to the plants.

• So the soil feeds the crop, and the farmer does not need to feed the crop directly with chemicals.

• Why chemical farming is being replaced (NCERT background):

• Five decades of chemical fertilisers have damaged fertile land and contaminated groundwater.
• Hard soil holds less water, so farmers need more irrigation.
• Green Revolution pesticides entered food, soil and water. Through the food chain they reached milk, meat and fish.

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF): the four pillars

ZBNF is the best-known model of natural farming. It was developed by Subhash Palekar. "Zero budget" means the farmer spends almost nothing on bought inputs.

• Jeevamrutha: a microbial culture made from cow dung, cow urine, jaggery and pulse flour. It adds useful microbes to the soil.
• Beejamrutha: a seed treatment that protects young roots from disease.
• Acchadana: mulching, which means covering the soil with crop residue to keep moisture in.
• Whapasa: soil aeration, so that the soil holds both air and water.

What helps it and what holds it back

• Helps:
• Input costs are low, so the farmer needs less credit and carries less debt risk.
• Soil health, groundwater quality and the food chain get better.

• It fits with other natural methods such as biopest control (fighting pests with neem, mixed cropping, crop rotation and natural predators) and biocomposting.

• Holds back:

• Yields may fall in the first years while the soil recovers.
• Costs are not really "zero", because labour and cattle upkeep still cost money.
• Food security risk: if too many farmers switch too fast, total food output could fall.

In India

• Scale-up path:
• BPKP (Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati), 2020-21: a sub-scheme under PKVY (Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, the organic farming scheme of 2015).

• Andhra Pradesh Community-managed Natural Farming (APCNF): a state-level model run through farmer communities.

• National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF):

• Approved by the Union Cabinet on 25 November 2024 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (a scheme paid for jointly by the Centre and the states) [1].
• Outlay: ₹2,481 crore [1].
• Centre-state share: 90:10 for hilly and North-Eastern states and 60:40 for other states [1].
  • Worked example: for a ₹100 crore state plan, a normal state gets ₹60 crore from the Centre and pays ₹40 crore itself. A North-Eastern state gets ₹90 crore and pays only ₹10 crore.
• Targets: 1 crore farmers, 7.5 lakh ha, 15,000 clusters and 10,000 Bio-input Resource Centres (BRCs) [1][2].
  • BRCs are local centres that make and supply natural inputs to farmers who have no cattle of their own.
• Time frame: up to the end of the 15th Finance Commission period [1].
• Krishi Sakhis (trained women farm helpers): over 70,000 deployed [2].
• Progress by July 2025: over 10 lakh farmers enrolled, 1,100 model farms set up and 806 training institutes engaged [2].

Don't confuse with

• Organic farming: it may use organic inputs bought from outside and usually needs certification to earn a price premium. Natural farming uses only on-farm inputs. Organic farming in India is run under PKVY (2015), which uses clusters of 20 ha [4]. Natural farming is run under NMNF (2024) [1].
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM): IPM still allows need-based chemical pesticides as the last option. It aims to keep pests below the Economic Threshold Level (the point where crop loss equals the cost of control) [3]. Natural farming uses no chemicals at all.
• Vermicomposting: earthworms turn organic waste into compost. It is a composting method, not one of the four ZBNF pillars.
• Conservation agriculture: it rests on minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop diversification. It is about how the soil is handled, not about banning chemicals.

Prelims Hooks

• ZBNF was developed by Subhash Palekar. Its four pillars are jeevamrutha, beejamrutha, acchadana and whapasa. A common trap is to add "vermicompost" as a fifth pillar.
• Jeevamrutha = microbial culture (cow dung + cow urine + jaggery + pulse flour). Beejamrutha = seed treatment. Acchadana = mulching. Whapasa = soil aeration.
• NMNF: Cabinet approval on 25 November 2024, ₹2,481 crore, Centrally Sponsored Scheme, 1 crore farmers, 7.5 lakh ha, 15,000 clusters, 10,000 BRCs [1][2].
• NMNF funding share: 90:10 for hilly and North-Eastern states, 60:40 for other states [1].
• BPKP (2020-21) is a sub-scheme of PKVY. It is not a separate mission.
• Sikkim, the first fully organic state (January 2016) [4], is an organic example, not a natural farming one. Watch for this mix-up in statements.

Mains Points

• Scale versus food security:
• NMNF aims to reach 1 crore farmers [1], but yields may drop in the first years.

• A sensible path is to go step by step, cluster by cluster, and to support farmers with certification and price premiums so that the income lost during the switch is covered.

• Answer to Green Revolution damage:

• Chemical overuse caused soil damage, polluted groundwater and put chemicals into the food chain.

• Natural farming, used together with IPM and biocomposting, cuts input costs. This supports the goal of raising farm income and links to SDG 2, SDG 12, SDG 13 and SDG 15.

• Is "zero budget" really zero?

• Labour and cattle upkeep are hidden costs.
• Institutions such as BRCs and Krishi Sakhis (over 70,000) [2] help small farmers without cattle, and farmers who lack the know-how, to adopt natural farming.

Related concepts

• Traditional knowledge
• Vermicomposting
• Biopest control
• Integrated pest management
• Organic farming
• Organic food
• Zero budget natural farming
• Conservation agriculture
• Zero tillage
• Direct seeded rice

Read more

• Strategies II: traditional knowledge and sustainable agriculture