THE NEED FOR NATURAL FARMING IN THE COUNTRY

THE NEED FOR NATURAL FARMING IN THE COUNTRY  I  RACE IAS : Best IAS Coaching in Lucknow I  Current Affairs

Mains General Studies: 3

(Issues and Challenges related to Agriculture Sector)

Context :

  • The crops produced by the increasing use of chemical fertilizers and medicines in agriculture are having a direct adverse effect on health.
  • Farmers are trapped in the vicious cycle of high input agriculture in the pursuit of higher crop production and higher price realization.
  • Continuously falling production and increasing diseases in crops are adding to the complexities of the agriculture sector.
  • Taking farmers out of this situation and turning to natural farming for their long term welfare can yield positive results.

Natural Farming:

  • Natural farming is a chemical fertilizer free ie traditional farming method. Natural farming is one such unique model, which depends on agro-ecology.
  • It aims to reduce the cost of production and promote sustainable agriculture.

Significance :

  • It is considered to be an agro-ecology based diversified farming system, which integrates crops, trees and livestock with biodiversity.
  • Natural farming encourages the breakdown of organic matter by microbes and earthworms on the surface of the soil and gradually adds nutrients to the soil. However, in organic farming, organic manure, vermi-compost and cow dung manure are used and these are used in plowed fields.
  • Zero budget natural farming is a method that, along with reducing costs, encourages climate dependent agriculture and farmers to use local resources and eliminates the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides. In this way soil health and human health are protected from harm.
  • Zero Budget Natural Farming is a unique method that does not require any monetary investment to purchase vital inputs like seeds, fertilizers and plant protection chemicals from the market. It is a comprehensive, natural and spiritual farming system. Farmers can grow local varieties of crops without fertilizers and pesticides. Since it is zero budget farming, it will not require any institutional credit and the dependence on human labor will also be minimized. Zero budget natural farming is an effective method of improving soil fertility through various agricultural principles.
  • Natural farming provides a strong basis for increasing farmers' income while also offering many other benefits, such as restoration of soil fertility and environmental health, and mitigating or reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
  • It is based on the natural or ecological processes that exist on or near the farm.
  • Along with doubling the income of the farmers, the target set by the government to double the production of food grains can also be achieved with this method of farming. Not only this, the yield of the crop grown under zero budget natural farming is also very good.

Efforts of Government of India for Natural Farming:

  • The government has launched the National Natural Farming Mission to promote natural farming across the country, so that farmers can reduce the use of chemical fertilizers in the fields.
  • The natural farming area assisted by the Government of India has now reached 4.09 lakh hectares. An allocation of Rs 49.81 crore has been made for this work in eight states including Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala.
  • Zero budget natural farming is currently being focused in India. Under this, a group of natural farming methods and a grassroots farmer's movement is being prepared, which is spreading in different states of India.

National Natural Farming Mission:

  • Under the National Natural Farming Mission, an area of seven and a half lakh hectares will be brought under its ambit by developing fifteen thousand clusters.
  • Farmers willing to start natural farming will be registered as cluster members and with this each cluster will consist of fifty or more farmers with fifty hectares of land.
  • The cluster can be a single village and two-three neighboring villages can also be included in it.
  • Under this mission, financial assistance of fifteen thousand rupees per hectare per year for three years will be given for the construction of infrastructure.
  • A web portal has also been launched to provide information on implementation framework, resources, progress of implementation, farmer registration, blog etc. and to promote natural farming.

Side effects of chemical farming:

  • The increasing population of the world is a serious problem. The use of various types of chemical fertilizers, toxic pesticides by humans to produce more and more to supply food to the people, affects the cycle of exchange between organic and inorganic substances of nature, i.e. the ecological system, due to which The fertility of the land deteriorates, as well as the environment gets polluted and human health declines.

Way Forward

  • The report titled 'Evidence of the Absolute Benefits of Organic and Natural Farming in India' outlines the approach and benefits of natural farming based on evidence that non-chemical farming can be widely expanded.
  • The report shows a clear path for future policies that the various benefits of organic or natural farming should be looked at holistically rather than just yield.
  • The scientific community and policy makers should encourage non-chemical farming. The yield results recorded 504 times between 2014-19 show that the highest yield through natural farming is 41 per cent, partially chemical based integrated farming is 33 per cent and chemical farming is just 26 per cent.
  • Government should promote natural farming instead of chemical farming. Along with this, the states also need to be encouraged, so that they can prepare the curriculum of their agricultural universities on the basis of natural farming. The need of the hour is that more big steps should be taken in this direction.

Conclusion:

  • Agriculture is the mainstay of the rural economy in India and it is also the main source of income for a large population. At the time of Green Revolution, emphasis was laid on increasing production in view of increasing population and income. Then emphasis was laid on the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in large quantities in agriculture for higher production. Now due to this, marginal and small farmers are having high cost in small holdings and water, land, air are getting polluted, food items are also getting poisoned. Therefore, to deal with all these problems, the government is emphasizing on natural agriculture.

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Main Exam Question:

What is natural farming? Explain its importance.