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Natural farming, also known as zero-budget natural farming, is an innovative farming approach in which crops are grown with very less input. This low-cost farming system is climate resilient too. The article discusses the different cropping forms of natural farming systems and their benefits in comparison to conventional farming systems. Research results indicate that natural farming increases net returns, especially in the vegetable cropping system where the reduction in the cost is 40% (Kharif) and 20% (Rabi) across all crop combinations in comparison to the conventional farming system. The vegetable-based cropping system has 20% more net return in the Kharif season and 29% more net return during the Rabi season as compared to the conventional farming system. It has been also found that natural farming maximises land use and reduces the chances of crop yield loss. Apart from natural farming being cost-saving because of not using chemical fertilisers and pesticides, intercropping also benefits the land. With the objective of promoting natural farming in Babina, Development Alternatives started an initiative in Khajraha Khurd Village. Under this initiative, it supported farmers by providing them with training and the required machinery, so that they could adopt sustainable farming. Adopting natural farming would improve the soil fertility in their lands, decrease the cost of the farming system, and increase the farmers’ income. As mentioned earlier, natural farming is a different form of agriculture that does not require any financial capital to purchase essential inputs such as seeds, fertilisers, plant protection chemicals, and other inputs related to farming. Selection of the Area and Farmers Khajraha Khurd village is part of Development Alternatives' existing NABARD Watershed project. It is a revenue village and belongs to the Babina block of the Jhansi district. Primary data were collected from farmers practicing natural farming and conventional farming systems here for comparative analysis. Practising Natural Farming According to Their Size of Landholding For the analysis of the data, the total respondents were divided according to the size of their landholdings into three classes: marginal (<1 ha), small (1–2 ha), and medium (2–4 ha). The distribution of the sampled farmers is given in Table 1. Table 1: Distribution of Sampled Households According to Landholding
Season-Wise Major Crop Combinations under Natural Farming System In a natural farming system, two to four crops are cultivated together on the same plot. Leguminous crops as also grown as intercrop to ensure that no part of the land is wasted, and the entire land is utilised properly. These combinations during the growing season are established to encourage interaction between the different plants and is based on the idea that complementarities exist between the plants. Intercropping with the leguminous crop is considered one of the very important parts of natural farming as it increases crop productivity and soil fertility through atmospheric nitrogen fixation. It also introduces diversification and improves profits by growing various types of cereals, vegetables, legumes, and fruit plants. The mixed cropping system enhances income and balances soil fertility. Comparative Analysis of Natural Farming System and Conventional Farming System As two to four crops are cultivated on the same farmland under the natural farming system. it is easy to equate natural farming economic produce with conventional farming. Compared to conventional farming, crop production per plant is high in the natural farming system. Moreover, the conventional farming system currently faces multiple challenges such as a decrease in productivity, inappropriate use of nutrients, poor nutrient quality, depletion of water, and increased input costs. Figure 1 gives a comparative analysis of conventional and natural farming systems.
Figure 1: Comparative analysis of conventional and natural farming systems Conclusion
Intercropping with leguminous crops is considered one of the advantages
of natural farming as it increases crop productivity and soil fertility
through atmospheric nitrogen fixation. The adoption of the natural
farming system in Khajraha Khurd village revealed that farmers witnessed
lower cost of production and a better profitable yield for their crops.
The farmers were pleased that the natural farming system is
environmentally friendly and extremely cost-effective. The crop
equivalent yield under natural farming was highest in all the crop
combinations as compared to the conventional farming system.
Rishabh Singh |
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