Tamil Nadu Agricultural University

AGR 892-Doctoral seminar II (0+1)

Chairman Members

Swaminathan, C. 1. Dr. S. Sakthivel,

Professor, Professor (Agronomy),
Dept. of Agronomy, 
AC & RI, Madurai - 625 104. Department of Agronomy,
AC & RI, Madurai – 625 104.
2. Dr. V. Swaminathan,
Professor (Horticulture),
Dept. of Horticulture,
Presented by Doctoral AC&RI, Madurai– 625 104.
Scholar
3. Dr. P. Kannan,
E. Sobhana,M.Sc. (Agric.)
2018810205. Asst. Professor (Soil Science),
Dept. of Soils & Environment,
AC&RI, Madurai– 625 104.
Sustainable Crop Production through Zero budget
natural farming
 Content
✔ Introduction
✔ Why ZBNF ?
✔ ZBNF in Budget 2019
✔ Definition
✔ History
✔ States implementing ZBNF
✔ Uniqueness of ZBNF
✔ Scope of ZBNF
✔ Principles of ZBNF
✔ Four wheels/ pillars of ZBNF
✔ Preparation methods
✔ Success stories
✔ Conclusion
 Introduction

• Alternative low-input farming practices have emerged in India

and across the world likely to reduce input costs and higher
yields for farmers, chemical-free food for consumers and
improved soil fertility.

• Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is one such low-

input, climate-resilient farming that inspires farmers to use
low-cost and locally-sourced and available inputs, eliminating
the use of artificial/chemical fertilisers and industrial
pesticides.

(Tripathi et al., 2018).

 Why ZBNF ?
•Rising cost of Inputs
•High labour wages
•Volatile market price
•Fragile ecosystem – Unpredicted monsoon extremes
•Large suicide of farmers
•Rising Environmental concerns
•Change in Consumers preference towards safety food

(Subhash Palekar,1995 & The Hindu, 2014)

 Definition
• Zero Budget Natural Farming, as the name implies, is a
method of farming where the cost of growing and harvesting
plants is zero.

• This means that farmers need not purchase fertilizers and

pesticides in order to ensure the healthy growth of crops.

• Crops uptake only 2-4 per cent as nutrients remaining 96 per

cent will obtained from air, water and solar energy

(Subhash Palekar,1995 & FAO,2016)

 Palekar’s vision
• This model eliminates the cost of fertilizers, pesticides and
seeds.

• Hence its evocative title ZERO BUDGET NATURAL

FARMING.

• According to Palekear, plants do not need any external inputs

if soil fertility is taken care of.

• He believes in a method of cultivation which makes the

already existing nutrients in the soil such as phosphate, potash,
zinc and calcium available in absorbable form by the plants.

(Nandakumar, 2010)
 Which are the States with big plans?
• According to the Economic Survey, more than 1.6 lakh farmers are
practising the ZBNF in almost 1,000 villages using some form of state
support, although the method’s advocates claim more than 30 lakh
practitioners overall.

• The original pioneer was Karnataka, where the ZBNF was adopted as
a movement by a State farmers’ association.

• In June 2018, Andhra Pradesh rolled out an ambitious plan to become

India’s first State to practise 100% natural farming by 2024.

• It aims to phase out chemical farming over 80 lakh hectares of land,

converting the State’s 60 lakh farmers to ZBNF methods.

(Saldanha, 2018)
Organizations which promote ZBNF

✔ Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha

✔ Isha sadhguru foundation

✔ Sony India private limited

✔ The art of living foundation

 Uniqueness of ZBNF
• An approach towards sustainability
• Expense-free farming
• Farming up to 30 acres with one native cow
• Farming with minimum electricity and water consumption
• Producing quality, poison-free food
• Agriculture without external input
• Techniques of multi-crop cultivation for higher net income
• Reducing external labour requirement
• Farming in tune with nature
• Saving the farmers from suiciding themselves and leaving behind their
families as beggars.

(Subash Palekar, 2015)

 Scope for ZBNF
✔ 70 % of land area is under dry land agriculture with marginal resource poor
farmers.

✔ The average pesticide usage of country is 0.6 kg/ha < China(13kg/ha)

<Korea(16.56 kg/ha), So ZBNF can be easily employed.

✔ 80 % conventional yield can be achieved with ZBNF

✔ Farmer get premium price of 22-35% over conventional produce.

✔ Due to diversified cropping farmers get year round income and insurance
against crop failures.

✔ The income obtained from the farm is high with low input.

(Kagashin report,2014 & World watch.com)

 Low Input farming
⮚ The production cost for the farmer is
zero as no input needs to be
purchased.

⮚ As 1.5 to 2.0 % of the nutrients are

taken from the soil by the plant, there
is no need to add fertilizers.

⮚ These nutrients provided by nature

(as in the forest) are totally free of
cost.

(Padmavathy, 2011).
 Natural input

✔ Natural farming does not require chemicals inputs or

organic compost like vermi-culture

✔ Promotes a natural catalyst of biological activity in the soil

and natural protection from diseases.

(Kumar et al., 2013)

 Soil mulching
✔ It is necessary to create the microclimate
under which micro-organisms can well
develop, that is 25 to 32 °C temperature,
65 to 72 % moisture.
✔ It creates darkness and warmth in the soil.
✔ It conserves humidity of the soil, cools it
and protects its micro-organisms.
✔ Mulching promotes humus formation,
suppresses weeds and maintain the water
requirement of crops.

(Tripathi et al., 2018).

 Multicropping
✔ Multicropping is a good way to
minimize the risks for the
farmer who is able to enjoy
continuity of yield throughout the
year.
✔ In case of a crop’s failure he can
also rely on the other crops.
✔ It has expanded farmers’ income
sources.

(Niyogi, 2018)
 Importance of desi cow in ZBNF

⮚ One gram of desi cow dung

contains 300 to 500 crores of
beneficial effective microbes.
⮚ Micro-organisms decompose
the dried biomass on the soil
and make available the nutrients
to the plants.
⮚ All Indian cow breeds are
suitable for ZBNF.

Babu, (2008)
⮚ Cross bred Jersey & Holstein Friesian cows are not
suitable for ZBNF, there is more pathogens in their
dung and urine.
 Bijamrutha

• It is a mixture of water, cow dung, cow urine,

lime and forest soil which is used to treat
seeds, seedlings or any planting material
which protects from soil and seed borne
pathogens.

( Priya and Vivek, 2016)

 Jivamrutha
• It is a mixture of water, cow dung, cow urine, jaggery
(unrefined brown sugar), flour of any pulse when applied over
soil promotes biological activity and adds soil microbes.

• It acts as a catalytic agent to promote biological activity

thereby breaks the nutrients available in the soil by
increasing soil microbes.

( Priya and Vivek, 2016)

• When we apply Jiwamrita to the soil, we add nearly 500-
crore micro-organisms to the soil.

• These micro-organisms convert the non-available form of

nutrients - nitrogen, phosphate, potash, iron, sulphur, calcium,
etc - into available forms.

• Two hundred litres per acre per month is enough as a

culture to convert the soil.

• Once you apply Jiwamrita to the soil, the earthworms start

their work and they can bring the nutrients from 15 feet
deeper in the soil to the upper surface and make them
available to the roots.
• These earthworms, micro organisms and other insects
need a favourable micro-climate, i.e. 25 to 32 °C
temperature.

• When we mulch the soil, this micro-climate or

humus is created automatically.
 Mulching
• Soil mulching, straw mulching, live mulching are done
under ZBNF
• Reduces need for tillage
• Enhances biological activity
• Replenishes the nutrient base of the soil
• Retains soil moisture
• Controls water evaporation
• Increases water holding capacity of soil.

(Padmavathy, 2011).
 Waaphasa
• If there is no Waaphasa (soil aeration) in the soil, the
plants will die.

• For this, water is sprayed on degradable materials that are

allowed to remain on the farmland.

• This forms humus that helps retain the moisture and nutrients
in the soil.

• Farmers need to draw only 10 per cent of the required water

from the soil for cultivation using this method. 

( Priya and Vivek, 2016)

Preparation methods…
 Title

• Text
Title
 Ghan-Jiwamrita
• Take 100 Kg Local Cow Dung, 2 Kg Jaggery, 2 Kg Pulses
flour, Handful soil from the bund.

• Then mix it well by adding small amount of Cow Urine. Then

spread & shade dry it.

• Afterwards make its powder by hand & apply to the crops in

the proportion of 100 Kg FYM & 10 Kg of Ghan-jiwamrita

(Subhash Palekar, 2013)

 Pest management in ZBNF
• Agniastra, Bramhastra and Neemastra are three methods under
ZBNF which are to control the pests like leaf roller, stream
borer, fruit borer, pod borer, sucking pests and mealy bug
etc.

• All these methods use local available inputs like cow dung,
cow urine, green chillies, neem pulp, neem leaves which are
always available In farmers’ farm free of cost.

(Priya and Vivek, 2016)

 Title

• Text
 ZBNF for combating Climate change
• ZBNF is positioned as a solution to the debt crisis among Indian farmers.

• Most recent available figures by the government of India show that about
52% of the agricultural households in the country are in debt (NSSO,
2014).

• The Government of Andhra Pradesh has decided to transmute

farming to Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) by the year 2024.

• AP Government has decided to approach 60 lakh (6 million) farming

households to adopt “Climate Resilient Zero Budget Natural Farming
(CRBZBNF)” as a farming practice that believes in natural growth of
crops without supplying any other external inputs.

(APZBNF, 2018)
 Farmer experiences

✔ All farmers who have adopted it, whether partially or fully,

claim without exception that it has increased yield, reduced
their costs of production to almost zero, reduced both their
own and external labour input.

✔ ZBNF increased their pleasure working the field without

having to handle toxic substances and significantly reduced the
water requirements for their fields.

(Daniel Munster, 2016)

 Continued…

✔ All the farmers selected for study have expressed satisfaction

that switching over to the new method from chemical
agriculture has paid them good dividends.

(Yognanada babu, 2016)

✔ Similar crop cutting experiement on paddy in state wide of

Andhra pradesh revealed that there is 10 % increase in
production in the first year and the cost of cultivation
reduced by Rs.5,000-20,000/acre.

(Vijayakumar, 2016)
 Success stories of Zero Budget Natural Farmers

• Mr.Annadurai, paddy farmer from Musuri

Trichy who practised ZBNF in 2 acre land
obtained 2t of yield per acre and he got
confidence to expand it to entire 10 acres
(Spritiualfarming.blogspot.in,2008)

• Farmers in Idukki finds Zero Budget natural

farming successful revealed that their yield
was not reduced and they got better price
even during seasonal glut. If you follow the
guidelines suggested by Mr. Palekar, you will
get the result says Mr.kudankavil.

(Farmers in Idukki find zero budget farming

successful-The Hindu,2010)
• Mr.T.Suryanarayana Raju an zero
budget farmer from East Godavari
district who cultivates oil palm and
paddy.
• He obtained good yield of 10 t of
oil palm and 2 t of paddy per acre
was able to reduce his cost of
cultivation by Rs.12,000/acre
reaped a net income of 15 lakhs
after meeting all expenses from his
20 acre oil palm and 5 acre paddy.

(Rashtrya Krishi VikasYojana, 2011)

 ZBNF as viable option for higher yield in
Andhra Pradesh

Giddaiya
•A local farmer of Andhra Pradesh, has been practising ZBNF (tomatoes, red
gram and pearl millet) since last year on 2.02343 hectares (ha) after thorough
government training.
•He observed the reduction in cost of cultivation of Rs 10000.

Marappa Naidu
•He has 4.04686 ha of land.
•Right now, practising ZBNF on five acres.
•He followed navdhanya concept where nine types of crops are grown to
increase the yield.

(Sunilkumar, 2019)
• In Anantapuram district, Naidu gets five quintals (1 quintal
is 100 kg) of red gram under ZBNF compared to three quintals
under non-ZBNF.

• In Gosanipalli village, around 150 farmers are practising

ZBNF.

• Ramajaneyulu, a local farmer, has 0.81ha of land practising

ZBNF for two years and witnessed nine quintals of groundnut
as compared to six or seven under non-ZBNF.

• Besides groundnuts, he also grows onions, tomatoes, carrot and

red gram.

(Niyogi, 2018)
 Continued….
Name : Sri Krishnappa Dasappa Gowda (AP)
Model : Palekar’s Five layer model
Area adopted : 5 acres

Plants Grown :
• Banana,Arecanut,Pepper,Coffee,Glyricidia and vanilla creepers
• Additional crops – 1 Coconut and 1Mozambique in each plot

• His farm has been visited by nearly 3 lakh visitors and he trained
more than 500 famers.

(ABCD farming/subhash palekar five layer model, 2015)

 Back logs of ZBNF

✔ There is no special market to sell.

✔ Takes long conversion period.

✔ It is practiced in fewer parts of India.

✔ It is an highly localized farming.

✔ It is practised in negligible area.

✔ The farming type is still under debate and not much scientific
research is done still under evaluation.

(Shrivastav, 2011)
 Conclusion
✔ ZBNF has been emerged as a farming model for small and marginal
farmers to overcome the farming distress and sustaining the livelihood
and keeping the health of family on top priority.

✔ It reduces farmers’ costs through eliminating external inputs and

utilising in-situ resources to rejuvenate the soil, simultaneously increasing
incomes, restoring ecosystem/soil health and climate resilience through
diverse, multi-layered cropping systems.

✔ Now Indian government has also proposed in the budget 2019-20 for
ZBNF.

✔ These types of farming models should be adopted and replicated in other

state of India as in Andhra Pradesh.
Thank you