Kerala - Palakkad   

Zero budget farming can solve food crisis: Palekar

PALAKKAD: Subash Palekar, who devised zero budget natural farming and has been practising it for the last 25 years, said here on Thursday that zero budget farming technology could solve the food and farm crisis in the country by cutting the cost of production and doubling productivity and production.” Over 25 lakh farmers in different parts of the country, including Kerala, have adopted the zero budget farming technology.

Inaugurating a two-day workshop on ‘zero budget natural farming,’ organised by the People’s Service Society at the Diocesan Pastoral Centre here, Mr. Palekar said the technology could be an alternative to the ‘Green Revolution’ and organic farming.

Mr. Palekar, hailing from Amaravati, heads the Zero Budget Natural Farming Research, Development and Extension Movement.

He said the failure of the Green Revolution had driven lakhs of farmers in the country to suicide, mainly due to the high cost of production and non-remunerative price of farm produce.

“Zero budget natural farming needs only one cow to cultivate 30 acres of farm land. Productivity can be doubled or even trebled.

“Besides, it is free from health hazards, as no chemical or organic materials are used for farming.”

He said though the government claimed that the country had achieved food self-sufficiency, it has been importing foodgrains every year since independence. As per the government’s own estimate, by 2050, the population of the country would double and hence our food production has to be trebled. However, food production in the country has been declining over the years.

The fertility of land has been lost due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers in vast areas where the Green Revolution took place.

It has caused grave health and environment problems. But, the government has not yet found an alterative to it. They are now promoting organic farming, which is also destructive and has high cost of production.

So for sustainable development, the zero budget natural farming is the best alternative.

He said zero budget farming was not only low cost but gave high productivity too. For example, it has been found that in zero budget farming, the productivity of Basmati rice was 24 quintals an acre as against 10 quintals in chemical farming.

The average production of Basmati per acre in the country is between 8 quintals to 12 quintals.

It does need inputs such as farm yard manure (cow dung manure), compost, vermicompost, organic fertilizers, chemical fertilizers, hybrid seeds of genetically modified seeds, chemical insecticides or fungicides, tractors, weedicides, micronutrients, etc. It requires only 10 per cent water and 10 per cent electricity than what is required under chemical and organic farming.

That means zero budget farming can save 90 per cent of irrigation water and electricity.

It utilises only natural resources as inputs.

The cost of production of the main crop is nil. It generates more production and profit than chemical or organic farming in the first year itself. It also increases the fertility of the soil, Mr. Palekar said.

There were a couple of farmers from the district who participated in the workshop and shared their experience of zero budget farming.

Chandrasekharan of Vithunassery in Nemmara panchayat, who has adopted zero budget farming on his 1.32-acre land, said he expected to earn a profit of Rs.1 lakh from his farm.

Another farmer from Kanjikode, Manoj Kumar, who has cultivated banana, paddy, vegetables, coconut, etc., on his16-acre farm, said he was getting good yield and higher price for his produce. Mr. Manoj Kumar said he was pleased with results of zero budget farming on his farmland.

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