Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)

Across the world, agriculture is facing multiple setbacks, in the form of extreme weather events like floods
and droughts or factors such as soil degradation, soil salinity and water shortage. To feed the global
population of 9.6 billion by 2050, as projected by a United Nations report, scaling up food production is
important. Ensuring food security, producing more with less resources and building the resilience of
smallholder farmers are also important in creating a food-secure future.

Background(Zero Budget Natural Farming)

 The neoliberalization of the Indian economy led to a deep agrarian crisis that made small scale farming an unviable vocation.

 Privatized seeds, inputs, and markets are inaccessible and expensive for peasants.

 Indian farmers increasingly find themselves in a vicious cycle of debt, high production costs, high interest rates for credit, and volatile market prices of crops.

 Under such conditions, ‘zero budget’ farming promises to end a reliance on loans and drastically cut oduction costs.

 The phrase ‘Zero Budget’ means without using any credit, and without spending any money on purchased inputs.

 ‘Natural farming’ means farming with Nature and without chemicals.

 Everything required for the crop comes from nature itself.

Need for ZBNF (Zero Budget Natural Farming)

 Ensuring food security and producing more with less resources.

 For building the resilience of smallholder farmers for creating a food-secure future.

 ZBNF is the right solution to fight climate change and create resilient food systems.

 Fighting drought is one of the main objectives of ZBNF.

 The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN advocates environmentally-friendly farming methods that can take us to a more sustainable future.

 Importance for chemical free food consumption is growing rapidly.

 Chemical farming has made food a poison and also has reduced the yield by making lands barren.

 Farmers’ welfare and sustainable practices are vital for a sustainable and productive economy.

 ZBNF constitutes an effective strategy for achieving SDGs targets

ZBNF in India (Zero Budget Natural Farming)

 ZBNF is a set of farming methods, and also a grassroots peasant movement.

 It has attained wide success in southern India, especially the state of Karnataka where it first evolved.

 Farmers in Andhra Pradesh have practised ZBNF and have witnessed good results.

 Himachal Pradesh Government has launched ZBNF project which aims to increase agriculture produce and the income of farmers by the year 2022.

Features of ZBNF (Zero Budget Natural Farming)

 It is a farming practice that believes in natural growth of crops without adding any chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

 The four wheels of ZBNF are Bijamrita, Jiwamrita, Mulching and Waaphasa.

 Bijamrita is a natural way of seed treatment using local cow urine and cow dung.

 Jiwamrita is made using water, local cow dung, local cow urine, jaggery, dal flour and soil.

 Waaphasa is the aeration in the soil.

 ZBNF is different from organic farming.

 Intercropping is an important feature of ZBNF.

 Practising composting on the farm itself, so that soil organic matter increases.

 Storing water in the farm ponds for use in adverse conditions.

 Insects and pests are managed using neem leaves, neem pulp and green chillies.

 Establishing farmers’ federations and self-help groups, and placing farmers at the forefront of knowledge creation and dissemination.

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Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)

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