MODEL SYLLABUS OF NATURAL FARMING

1. INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL FARMING

1.1. History of Agriculture - Origin of Agriculture, Holocene, The Oasis Theory (The
Propinquity Theory or Desiccation Theory), Neolithic Demographic Transition Theory,
Coevolution Theory, Anthropocene.

1.2. Knowledge Based Agriculture - Traditional Agricultural Landscape (Holocene) and

Natural Farming Agroecosystem. Grey System Theory, Evolutionary Ecological Theory,
Ecological Modernization Theory, Typical Farm Theory, Agricultural Change Theory. Holistic
Knowledge.

1.3. Input Based Agriculture - Conventional Agriculture (Anthropocene) and Organic

Farming. Cartesian Reductionism.

1.4. Harmful Effects of Input Based Agriculture - Deforestation, Habitat Loss, Biodiversity
Loss, Genetic Erosion, Soil Erosion, Land Degradation, Desertification, Depletion of
Underground Water, Eutrophication, Pollinator Decline, Pesticide Residue in Food Chain,
Climate Change, Farmers Distress, Loss of Public Health.

2. NATURAL FARMING AGROECOSYSTEM

Traditional Agricultural Landscape -

Baranaja (Twelve Grains), Chinampas Farming, Shifting Cultivation (Jhum or Swidden),
Three Sisters, Vrikshayurveda, Zabo Cultivation. Characteristics of Traditional Agricultural
Landscape.

Traditional Agricultural Knowledge -

Local Knowledge, General Theory of Agricultural Knowledge Production, Source of
Traditional Agricultural Knowledge. Characteristics of Traditional Agricultural Knowledge.
Classification of Traditional Agricultural Knowledge.

Modernisation of Traditional Agricultural Knowledge

Agroecology, Agroecological Symbiosis, Agroforestry, Analog Forestry, Conservation
Agriculture, Ecological Farming, Fertility Farming, Food Forest, Forest Farming, Forest
Gardening, Korean Natural Farming, Natueco Farming, Natural Farming, No-dig Gardening,
No-till Farming, Permaculture, Probiotic Farming, Regenerative Agriculture, Rewilding,
Sorjan Farming System, Sustainable Intensification, Syntropic Agriculture, Taungya
Cultivation, Vedic Agriculture (Rishi Kheti), Zero Budget Natural Farming.

2.1. NATURAL CAPITAL (NATURAL RESOURCES)

2.1.1. ABIOTIC COMPONENTS OF NATURAL FARMING AGROECOSYSTEM

Soil - Physical, Chemical and Biological Properties of soil, soil Health.

Air - Components of Air.

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Water - Quantity and Quality of Water.

BIOGEOPHYSICAL CYCLES

Solar Energy Cycle - Diurnal Cycle, Seasonal Cycle.

Temperature Cycle - Daily Maximum and Minimum Temperature, Seasonal Variation,

Stratification, Vernalisation, Thermoperiodism, Hyponasty, Heat Dissipation, Leaf Energy
Balance, Radiation Exchange, Radiation Climate, Thermal Tolerance, Leaf Area Index,
Temperature Regulation, Climate Adaptation.

Light Cycle - Leaf Movement Hypothesis, Passive Movement Hypothesis, Chloroplast

Movement Hypothesis, Photosystem Modulation, Circadian Rhythm Hypothesis, Metabolic
Dawn Hypothesis, Shade Avoidance Syndrome, Energy Use Efficiency.

Air Cycle - Surface Albedo, Air Momentum and Mixing.

Hydrological Cycle - Evapotranspiration, Atmospheric Water, Precipitation, Bergeron

Findeisen Theory (Collision Coalescence), Halley's Temperature Gradient Theory, Surface
Water, Soil Water, Underground Water.

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

Carbon Cycle - Atmosphere, Terrestrial Biosphere, Geosphere

Nitrogen Cycle - Atmosphere, Nitrogen Fixation, Assimilation, Ammonification, Nitrification,

Denitrification

Phosphorus Cycle - Mineralization and Immobilization, Adsorption and Desorption,

Weathering, Precipitation and Dissolution

2.1.2. BIOTIC COMPONENTS OF NATURAL FARMING AGROECOSYSTEM

Microorganism Biodiversity - Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF), Plant Growth Promoting

Rhizobacteria (PGPR), Antagonists, Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms, Yeasts, Lactic Acid
Bacteria, Plant Pathogens.

Plant Biodiversity - Trees, Shrubs, Bushes, Hedges, Creepers, Climbers, Herbs, Grasses

Animal Biodiversity - Farm Animals, Aquatic Animals, Earthworms, Pollinators, Insect Pests,
Large Herbivores, Natural Enemies.

Human Community - Indigenous Communities, Farmers and Consumers. Diffusion of

Innovation (DOI), Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB),
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM).

2.1.3. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

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PROVISIONING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Provisioning of Food and Animal Feed

Provisioning of Drinking Water
Provisioning of Medicinal Resources
Provisioning of Probiotics
Provisioning of Cut Flower
Provisioning of Raw Materials

REGULATING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Regulating Water Availability in Soil

Regulating Carbon Cycle
Regulating Nitrogen Cycle
Regulating Phosphorus Cycle
Regulating Soil Health
Regulating Plant Health
Regulating Pollination of Crops
Regulating Natural Control of Insect Pests and Plant Pathogens

CULTURAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Recreation and Mental and Physical Health.

Tourism - Agritourism, Ecotourism, Food Tourism, Farmstay, Training, Educational Tour,
Fishing, Plant Nursery, Flower Show.
Aesthetic Appreciation and Inspiration for Culture, Art and Design.
Spiritual Experience and Sense of Place.

3. NATURAL FARM MANAGEMENT

3.1. AGROECOSYSTEM HEALTH MANAGEMENT

3.1.1. No-till
3.1.2. No Off-farm Inputs - e.g., Soil Amendments, Chemical Fertilizers, Micronutrients,
Organic Fertilizers, Compost, Vermicompost, Biofertilizers, Synthetic Growth Regulators,
Chemical Pesticides, Organic Pesticides, Biopesticides, Herbicides, Synthetic Antibiotics,
Light Traps, Pheromone Traps, Yellow Sticky Traps, Polythene Mulch, Fruit Ripeners, Food
Preservatives, Food Colours.
3.1.3. No Irrigation
3.1.4. Water Management
3.1.5. Mulching
3.1.6. Cover cropping

3.2. AGROBIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

3.2.1. Microorganism Biodiversity Management

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Microorganism Domestication - Fungi (mushroom, yeast), Bacteria (lactic acid bacteria).

Probiotics - Jeevamrit, Beejamrit (ZBNF), Kunapa Jal, Sasyagavya, Bhasmapani, Jaivik

Tika, Agnihotra Bhasma (Vrikshayurveda), Bokashi, Compost tea, Nettle (Probiotic Farming).

3.2.2. Plant Biodiversity Management

Natural Plant Breeding - Theory of Evolution, Natural Selection, Centres of Domestication,

Vavilov Centres, Plant Domestication, Genetic Cost of Domestication, Domestication
Syndrome, Stages of Domestication, Spontaneous Mutation, Artificial Selection,
Unconscious Selection, Wild Progenitor, Genetic Improvement, Landraces, Variety Turnover,
Seed Exchange, Diffusion, Migration, Metapopulation, Open Seed System, In-situ
Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources, Decentralized Plant Breeding, The Law of
Homologous Series, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act 2001, The
Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999.

Selection of Crop Species and Cultivar - Economic Criteria for Selection - Yield, Quality,
Market Price, Market Size (Market Price x Turnover), Net Profit of the farmer, Off-season or
All-season Production.
Ecological Criteria for Selection - Plant Height, Spacing, Growth Habit, Shade Tolerance,
Adaptability to Low Input Condition, Resistance or Tolerance to Insect Pests and Diseases,
Climate Resilience, Sustainability, PGPR Magnet Crop, Pollinator Magnet Crop, Bird Magnet
Crop, Trap Crop, Biocontrol Crop.

Crop Portfolio Optimization - Modern Portfolio Theory, Portfolio Size, Species Richness,
Biodiversity Index, Ecosystem Succession, Carrying Capacity, Climax Community, Area
Effect on Biodiversity, Edge Effect on Biodiversity, Complementarity Hypothesis, Facilitation
Hypothesis.

Use of Natural Seed - Open Pollinated Seed, Traditional Seed Storage and Seed
Preservation.

Natural Seed Treatment - Beejamrit, Cow Dung Coating, Mud Ball Placement.

Seed Sowing - Seed Broadcasting, Mixed Seed Sowing, Ecosystem Succession, Season of
Sowing, Auspicious Dates of Sowing.

In-situ Grafting - Benefits of Topworking, Multi-Grafting for Biodiversity, Early Bearing and
Induced Disease Resistance.

Multilayer Polycropping Design - Seven Layer (Food Forest), Five Layer (ZBNF), Three Crop
(Three Sisters), More Than 12 Crops (Baranaja), Up to 254 Crops (Forest Garden).

Fruit Bagging - Eco-friendly Paper Bagging of Fruits, Benefits of Paper Bagging.

Harvesting - Mixed Harvesting, Flying Robotic Drones for Mixed Harvesting, Digital Sorting
and Grading.

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Natural Ripening - Plant Based Natural Ripener.

3.2.3. Animal Biodiversity Management

Farm Animal Biodiversity Management - (Cattle, Poultry, Apiculture, Aquaculture)

Traditional Animal Breeding, Indigenous Breeds, Mixed Herd, Shifting Fence (Cell Grazing),
Natural Feed, Medicinal Herbs for Animals, Care Theory.

Feral Animal Biodiversity Management - (Earthworms, Pollinators, Insect Pests, Large

Herbivores, Natural Enemies)
Resistant or Tolerant Plant Variety, Plant Health (Trophobiosis Theory), Biofencing Crop,
Honey Plant, Pollinator Magnet Plants, Bird Magnet Plants, Trap Crop, Catch Crop,
Biocontrol Crop, Natural Control by Predators and Parasitoids

3.3. MARKETING MANAGEMENT

3.3.1. Direct Marketing - Farm Visit, Agritourism, Food tourism, Ecotourism, Fishing
Competitions, Excursion, Training, Workshop, Flower show, Plant Nursery, Farmers Market,
Home Delivery, Farmer Producer Organization (FPO). Agricultural Location Theory.

3.3.2. Digital Marketing - Website, Blog, Digital Platform, Portal, Mobile App, Email
Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Instagram Marketing, Youtube Marketing, Google
Marketing, Online Cashless Payment.

3.3.3. Natural Food Processing - Value Addition, Ethnic Cuisine.

3.3.4. Export - APEDA, Export Licence, Phytosanitary Compliance.

4. AGROECOSYSTEM ANALYSIS

4.1. ANALYSIS OF NATURAL CAPITAL

Abiotic Facilitation (Microclimate), Solar Energy, Temperature, Light, Water Resources (Blue
Infrastructure, Freshwater Habitat), Soil Health, Plant Health, Survey of Biodiversity
Informatics, Biological Data Mining, Data Analysis and Synthesis, Niche Construction
Theory, Ecological Niche Modelling, Network Science, Biodiversity Genomics, Species
Richness, Diversity Measurement, Alpha Diversity, Beta Diversity, Gamma Diversity,
Agrobiodiversity Index, Carrying Capacity, Ecological Succession, Climax Community,
Biodiversity Effect, Additive Partitioning Method, Optimal Defense Theory, Coexistence
Theory, Area Effect on Biodiversity, Edge Effect on Biodiversity, Complementarity Effect on
Biodiversity, Diversity-Stability Theory, Diversity Function Theory, Game Theory, Maximum
Entropy Theory of Agroecology, Metapopulation Theory, Nash Equilibrium, The Theory of
Biological Equilibrium, Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography, Systems
Theory, Chaos Theory, Keystone Species, Trophic Levels, May's Stability Theory, Energy
Transfer to Higher Trophic Levels, Ecological Efficiency, The Ten Percent Law, Resource
Partitioning, Root Economics Spectrum Hypothesis, Biotic Feedback.

4.2. VALUATION OF NATURAL CAPITAL

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Renewable and Non-renewable Resources (Plants, Animals, Air, Water, Soil, Minerals).
The System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting (SEEA) of the UN.

4.3. ANALYSIS OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Provisioning Ecosystem Services

Yield, Quantity, Quality, Ecosystem Service Footprint, Bioeconomic Modelling, Optimal

Harvesting Theory.

Regulating Ecosystem Services

Regulating Water Purification - Carbonaceous Biological Oxygen Demand (CBOD),

Dissolved Oxygen.

Regulating Hydrological Cycle - Evapotranspiration, Cloud Seeding, Bioprecipitation

Hypothesis, Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOC), Biotic Pump Theory, Rainwater
Availability, Rainwater Interception, Atmospheric Water Harvesting, Dew Transport, Moisture
Harvesting Index (MHI), Soil Water Regime, Water Holding Capacity of Soil, Water Retention
Curve, Hydraulic Conductivity, Transmission Time, Infiltration Rate, Groundwater Recharge,
Ascent of Sap, Cohesion-Tension Theory, Water Use Efficiency, Catchment Area,
Watershed, Freshwater Habitat, Flood Protection.

Regulating Carbon Cycle - Net Primary Productivity (NPP), Decomposition of Organic

Matter, C:N Ratio, Mineralization, Carbon Sequestration, Carbon Transport, Carbon
Assimilation, Estimation of Carbon Stock and Flow.

Regulating Nitrogen Cycle - Biological Nitrogen Fixation, Free-Living Heterotrophs,

Associative Bacteria, Symbiotic Bacteria, Legume Nodule Forming Bacteria, Direct Nitrogen
Supply by Earthworms, Blue Green Algae and Azolla, Denitrification, Leaching,
Biomass-Driven Competition Hypothesis, Niche Dimension Hypothesis, Nitrogen Detriment
Hypothesis.

Regulating Phosphorus Cycle - Biological Phosphate Solubilization, Phosphate Solubilizing

Bacteria, Decomposition of Organic Phosphate, Export of Phosphorus (Harvesting of crop).

Regulating Soil Health - Soil pH, Soil Health Bioindicators (Amidohydrolases, earthworm,
mushroom), Soil Health Index, Earthworm Biodiversity, Detritivores, Decomposition of
Organic Matter, Soil Mixing and Aggregation, Mineralization, Soil Formation (Pedogenesis),
The Humus Theory, Soil Tilth, Soil Structure, Cation Exchange Capacity, Chelation, Biofilm
Formation, Root Carbon, Soil Air, Bioremediation of Soil.

Regulating Plant Health - Plant Health Measurement, Chlorophyll Density (Colourimetry),

Photosynthesis Efficiency (Fluorescence), Leaf Chlorophyll Content (Extraction) and Mineral
Content in Plants, Plant Health Index, Fungal Loop Hypothesis, Fungal Symbiosis, Game
Theory, AMF, PGPR, Phytohormones, Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance, Defence Priming,
Antibiosis.

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Regulating Pollination of Crops - Pollinator Dependency, Survey of Native Pollinator
Biodiversity, Foraging Behaviour, Residence, Tripping Rate, Optimal Foraging Theory,
Central Place Foraging Theory, Network Theory, Game Theory, Chaos Theory, Mutualism,
The Magnet Hypothesis, Keystone Species, Pollination Efficiency, Coevolution Theory,
Pollinator Decline, Pollinator Sanctuary, Pollinator Pathway.

Regulating Natural Control of Insect Pests and Plant Pathogens - Trophic Levels, Food Web,
Food Pyramid, Predation, Parasitism, Competition, Trophobiosis Theory, Evolutionary Game
Theory, Population Dynamics, Logistic Equation, Correlative Model, Mechanistic Model,
General Predictive Model, The Dilution Effect, The Physical Barrier Effect, Disruptive Crop
Hypothesis, The Habitat Effect, Lotka-Volterra Model, Coevolution Theory, Optimal Foraging
Theory.

Cultural Ecosystem Services

Stakeholder Theory.

4.4. VALUATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Provisioning Ecosystem Services

Cost of Production, Productivity, Yield, Land Equivalent Ratio, Area and Time Equivalent
Ratio, Resource Use Efficiency, Carbon Dynamics, Selling Price, Other Income, Gross Total
Income, Taxes, Provisions, Net Profit of the Farmer.

Regulating Ecosystem Services

Replacement Cost, Avoided Health Cost, Cost of Retention of Soil, Yield Analysis.

Cultural Ecosystem Services

Shadow Pricing, Hedonic Pricing, Travel Cost/Time Method, Production Function

Approaches, Willingness to Pay/Accept, Benefit/Value Transfer, Choice Experiments,
Scaling Methods, Ranking Methods, Time-Use Methods, Photograph Analysis, Quantitative
Modelling, Geographical Information System (GIS) Based Approaches, Bayesian Belief
Networks, Narrative and Artistic Methods, Sceneries Creation, Anthropological Methods,
Deliberative Approaches, Participatory GIS Quantitative Data, Participatory Modelling,
Expert Opinion, Multiple or Combined Approaches, Multicriteria Decision Analysis,
Integrated Assessment Modelling.

Reference: Principles of Natural Farming by Dr. Bikash Ranjan Ray, Amazon.com.