Promotion of Zero Budget Natural Farming

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under Network Project on Organic Farming (NPOF) & All India Coordinated Research Projects (AICRP) on Integrated Farming Systems, has initiated experiment on “Evaluation of zero budget farming practices in basmati rice-wheat system” at Modipuram (UP) , Ludhiana (Punjab) , Pantnagar (UKhand) & Kurukshetra (Haryana) from rabi 2017 to study zero budget farming practices on productivity, economics & soil health including soil organic carbon & soil fertility.

Evaluation of Zero Budget Farming Practices System Places

Schemes for Zero Budget Natural Farming

Some Unique Quality of ZBNF
  • Zero Budget Natural Farming, as name implies, is method of farming where cost of growing & harvesting plants is zero.
  • This means that farmers need not purchase fertilizers & pesticides in order to ensure healthy growth of crops.
  • It is natural farming technique that uses biological pesticides instead of chemical-based fertilizers.
  • Farmers use earthworms, cow dung, urine, plants, human excreta & such biological fertilizers for crop protection.
  • It reduces farmers investment. It protects soil from degradation.
Four Pillars of Zero Budget Natural Farming

Government Initiatives to Support ZBNF

  • GoI is promoting organic farming in country thru dedicated schemes of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) since 2015 - 16 & thru Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) .
  • In revised guidelines of PKVY scheme during 2018, various organic farming models like Natural Farming, Rishi Farming, Vedic Farming, Cow Farming, Homa Farming, Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) etc. are included wherein flexibility is given to states to adopt any model of Organic Farming including ZBNF depending on farmer՚s choice.
  • Under RKVY scheme, organic farming⟋natural farming project components are considered by respective State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) according to their priority⟋choice.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research

  • Formed in - 1929
  • Headquarter - New Delhi

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana

  • Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (Traditional Farming Improvement Programme) was launched in April, 2015 to support & promote organic farming & thereby improving soil health.
  • This scheme encourages farmers to adopt eco-friendly concept of cultivation & reduce their dependence on fertilizers & agricultural chemicals to improve yields.
  • Organic farming is promoted thru adoption of organic village by cluster approach & PGS certification.

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

  • Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana is special Additional Central Assistance Scheme, was launched in August 2007.
  • Scheme was launched to incentivize States to provide additional resources in their State Plans over & above their baseline expenditure to bridge critical gaps.

Objectives of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

  • To incentivize States so as to increase public investment in Agriculture & allied sectors.
  • To provide flexibility & autonomy to States in process of planning & executing Agriculture & allied sector schemes.
  • To ensure preparation of agriculture plans for districts & States based on agro-climatic conditions, availability of technology & natural resources.
  • To ensure that local needs⟋crops⟋priorities are better reflected in agricultural plans of States.
  • To achieve goal of reducing yield gaps in imp. crops thru focused interventions.
  • To maximize returns to farmers in Agriculture & allied sectors.
  • To bring about quantifiable changes in production & productivity of various components of agriculture & allied sectors by addressing them in holistic manner.

Examrace Team at Aug 20, 2021