essay on natural farming

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Making Small Farms More Sustainable — and Profitable

• Lino Miguel Dias,
• Robert S. Kaplan,
• Harmanpreet Singh

A case study of Better Life Farming, an innovative public-private partnership in India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.

Smallholder farms provide a large proportion of food supply in developing economies, but 40% of these farmers live on less than U.S.$2/day.  With a rapidly growing global population it is imperative to improve the productivity and security of farmers making up this sector.  This article presents the results of Better Life Farming, an ecosystem that connects smallholder farmers in India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh to the capabilities, products, and services of corporations and NGOs.

More than 2 billion people currently live on about 550 million small farms, with 40% of them on incomes of less than U.S. $2 per day. Despite high rates of poverty and malnutrition, these smallholders produce food for more than 50% of the population in low-and middle-income countries, and they have to be part of any solution for achieving the 50% higher food production required to feed the world’s projected 2050 population of nearly 10 billion people.

• LD Lino Miguel Dias is Vice-President Smallholder Farming in the Crop Science Division at Bayer AG, a global pharmaceuticals and life sciences company based in Germany, and Invited Professor at University of Lisbon, Portugal.
• Robert S. Kaplan is a senior fellow and the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development emeritus at Harvard Business School. He coauthored the McKinsey Award–winning HBR article “ Accounting for Climate Change ” (November–December 2021).
• HS Harmanpreet Singh is Smallholder Partnerships Lead for the Asia Pacific region at Bayer AG, a global pharmaceutical and life Sciences company.

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Natural Farming: A Sustainable Approach to Agriculture and Environmental Conservation | Sociology UPSC | Triumph IAS

Table of Contents

Natural Farming

(relevant for geography section of general   studies paper prelims/mains).

Natural Farming is both an art and a practice, and it’s progressively becoming a scientific endeavor focused on harmonizing with nature to attain higher outcomes with fewer resources. Nonetheless, this approach has often been linked to reduced crop yields and limited improvements in farmers’ incomes.

This agricultural approach was introduced by Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer and philosopher, in his 1975 book ‘The One-Straw Revolution.’

It represents a diverse farming system that integrates crops, trees, and livestock, facilitating the optimal utilization of functional biodiversity.

Globally, Natural Farming is recognized as a type of regenerative agriculture, a prominent strategy for environmental conservation.

It offers the potential to not only increase farmers’ income but also contribute to soil fertility restoration, environmental well-being, and the mitigation or reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

This approach has the capability to effectively manage land practices and sequester carbon from the atmosphere into soils and plants, where it can be highly beneficial.

Several initiatives have been launched in this context:

• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)
• Sub-mission on AgroForestry (SMAF)
• National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)
• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yoj

Measures that can be taken to scale up Natural Farming

• Expanding Beyond the Ganga Basin: The focus should extend to the promotion of natural farming in rainfed regions beyond the Gangetic basin.
• Rainfed areas utilize only one-third of the fertilizers per hectare compared to irrigated regions, making the transition to chemical-free farming more feasible.
• Moreover, farmers in these regions can benefit significantly as current crop yields are comparatively low.
• Mitigating Risks for a Smooth Transition: To facilitate a seamless shift to chemical-free farming, farmers transitioning should be automatically enrolled in the government’s crop insurance scheme, PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
• Any change in agricultural practices, such as crop diversification or altered farming methods, introduces additional risks for farmers. Addressing these risks could encourage more farmers to embrace the transition.
• Supporting Agricultural Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (Agri MSMEs): The government should extend support to microenterprises that produce inputs for chemical-free agriculture.
• To tackle the challenge of the limited availability of natural inputs, the promotion of natural farming should go hand in hand with the establishment of village-level input preparation and sales shops. With two such shops in every village nationwide, it could provide livelihood opportunities for at least five million youth and women.
• Inspiration from Fellow Farmers: NGOs and exemplary farmers who have championed sustainable agriculture practices across the country can serve as inspirational figures.
• According to research by CEEW (Council on Energy, Environment, and Water) , approximately five million farmers are already engaged in some form of sustainable agriculture, with numerous NGOs actively promoting these practices.
• Learning from peers, especially exemplary farmers, through on-field demonstrations has proven highly effective in scaling up chemical-free agriculture in Andhra Pradesh.
• Leveraging Community-Based Institutions: Community institutions can play a pivotal role in raising awareness, inspiring others, and providing social support.
• The government should foster an environment where farmers can learn from and support each other during the transition.
• Beyond revising the curriculum in agricultural universities, there is a pressing need to enhance the skills of agricultural extension workers in sustainable farming practices.

Sample Question for UPSC Sociology Optional Paper:

Question 1 : What is the sociocultural impact of transitioning from conventional to Natural Farming ? Short Answer : The transition from conventional to Natural Farming can have a profound sociocultural impact by reinforcing traditional agricultural wisdom and community bonds, leading to a more sustainable and ecologically conscious society.

Question 2 : How does Natural Farming intersect with the concept of social capital? Short Answer : Natural Farming often involves community cooperation and shared knowledge, thereby enriching social capital by fostering community ties, trust, and mutual assistance.

Question 3 : What role do NGOs play in the promotion and scaling of Natural Farming in India? Short Answer : NGOs play a critical role in awareness-raising, training, and providing resources for Natural Farming, thereby serving as catalysts for its adoption and scalability.

Question 4 : Discuss the gender dimensions of Natural Farming . Short Answer : Natural Farming can empower women by involving them in decision-making processes and offering them opportunities in agricultural microenterprises, thereby improving gender equality in the sector.

Question 5 : How does Natural Farming contribute to rural development? Short Answer : Natural Farming can spur rural development by increasing farmers’ incomes, improving food security, restoring soil health, and generating employment opportunities, especially through Agri MSMEs.

To master these intricacies and fare well in the Sociology Optional Syllabus , aspiring sociologists might benefit from guidance by the Best Sociology Optional Teacher and participation in the Best Sociology Optional Coaching . These avenues provide comprehensive assistance, ensuring a solid understanding of sociology’s diverse methodologies and techniques.

Natural Farming, Sustainable Agriculture, Masanobu Fukuoka, Regenerative Agriculture, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, Sub-mission on AgroForestry, National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yoj, Soil Fertility, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Rainfed Regions, Chemical-Free Farming, Agri MSMEs

Choose T he Best Sociology Optional Teacher for IAS Preparation?

At the beginning of the journey for Civil Services Examination preparation, many students face a pivotal decision – selecting their optional subject. Questions such as “ which optional subject is the best? ” and “ which optional subject is the most scoring? ” frequently come to mind. Choosing the right optional subject, like choosing the best sociology optional teacher , is a subjective yet vital step that requires a thoughtful decision based on facts. A misstep in this crucial decision can indeed prove disastrous.

Ever since the exam pattern was revamped in 2013, the UPSC has eliminated the need for a second optional subject. Now, candidates have to choose only one optional subject for the UPSC Mains , which has two papers of 250 marks each. One of the compelling choices for many has been the sociology optional. However, it’s strongly advised to decide on your optional subject for mains well ahead of time to get sufficient time to complete the syllabus. After all, most students score similarly in General Studies Papers; it’s the score in the optional subject & essay that contributes significantly to the final selection.

“ A sound strategy does not rely solely on the popular Opinion of toppers or famous YouTubers cum teachers. ”

It requires understanding one’s ability, interest, and the relevance of the subject, not just for the exam but also for life in general. Hence, when selecting the best sociology teacher, one must consider the usefulness of sociology optional coaching in General Studies, Essay, and Personality Test.

The choice of the optional subject should be based on objective criteria, such as the nature, scope, and size of the syllabus, uniformity and stability in the question pattern, relevance of the syllabic content in daily life in society, and the availability of study material and guidance. For example, choosing the best sociology optional coaching can ensure access to top-quality study materials and experienced teachers. Always remember, the approach of the UPSC optional subject differs from your academic studies of subjects. Therefore, before settling for sociology optional , you need to analyze the syllabus, previous years’ pattern, subject requirements (be it ideal, visionary, numerical, conceptual theoretical), and your comfort level with the subject.

This decision marks a critical point in your UPSC – CSE journey , potentially determining your success in a career in IAS/Civil Services. Therefore, it’s crucial to choose wisely, whether it’s the optional subject or the best sociology optional teacher . Always base your decision on accurate facts, and never let your emotional biases guide your choices. After all, the search for the best sociology optional coaching is about finding the perfect fit for your unique academic needs and aspirations.

To master these intricacies and fare well in the Sociology Optional Syllabus , aspiring sociologists might benefit from guidance by the Best Sociology Optional Teacher and participation in the Best Sociology Optional Coaching . These avenues provide comprehensive assistance, ensuring a solid understanding of sociology’s diverse methodologies and techniques. Sociology, Social theory, Best Sociology Optional Teacher, Best Sociology Optional Coaching, Sociology Optional Syllabus. Best Sociology Optional Teacher, Sociology Syllabus, Sociology Optional, Sociology Optional Coaching, Best Sociology Optional Coaching, Best Sociology Teacher, Sociology Course, Sociology Teacher, Sociology Foundation, Sociology Foundation Course, Sociology Optional UPSC, Sociology for IAS,

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• Published: 20 January 2020

Potential yield challenges to scale-up of zero budget natural farming

• Jo Smith   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6984-6766 1 ,
• Jagadeesh Yeluripati 2 ,
• Pete Smith   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3784-1124 1 &
• Dali Rani Nayak 1  

Nature Sustainability volume  3 ,  pages 247–252 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

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• Agriculture
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Under current trends, 60% of India’s population (>10% of people on Earth) will experience severe food deficiencies by 2050. Increased production is urgently needed, but high costs and volatile prices are driving farmers into debt. Zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) is a grassroots movement that aims to improve farm viability by reducing costs. In Andhra Pradesh alone, 523,000 farmers have converted 13% of productive agricultural area to ZBNF. However, sustainability of ZBNF is questioned because external nutrient inputs are limited, which could cause a crash in food production. Here, we show that ZBNF is likely to reduce soil degradation and could provide yield benefits for low-input farmers. Nitrogen fixation, either by free-living nitrogen fixers in soil or symbiotic nitrogen fixers in legumes, is likely to provide the major portion of nitrogen available to crops. However, even with maximum potential nitrogen fixation and release, only 52–80% of the national average nitrogen applied as fertilizer is expected to be supplied. Therefore, in higher-input systems, yield penalties are likely. Since biological fixation from the atmosphere is possible only with nitrogen, ZBNF could limit the supply of other nutrients. Further research is needed in higher-input systems to ensure that mass conversion to ZBNF does not limit India’s capacity to feed itself.

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Acknowledgements

We thank V. Kumar, Z. Hussain and R. Nalavade of RySS for information, support while visiting sites and discussions. Funding for this work was provided by the Newton Bhabha Virtual Centre on Nitrogen Efficiency in Whole Cropping Systems (NEWS) project no. NEC 05724, the DFID-NERC El Niño programme in project NE P004830, ‘Building Resilience in Ethiopia’s Awassa Region to Drought’ (BREAD), the ESRC NEXUS programme in project IEAS/POO2501/1, ‘Improving Organic Resource Use in Rural Ethiopia’ (IPORE), and the GCRF South Asian Nitrogen Hub (NE/S009019/1). J.Y. was supported by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate under the current Strategic Research Programme (2016–2021): Research Deliverable 1.1.3: Soils and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The input of P.S. contributes to the UKRI-funded projects DEVIL (NE/M021327/1), Soils-R-GRREAT (NE/P019455/1) and N-Circle (BB/N013484/1), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme projects CIRCASA (grant agreement no. 774378) and UNISECO (grant agreement no. 773901), and the Wellcome Trust-funded project Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS).

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Jo Smith, Pete Smith & Dali Rani Nayak

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J.S. was primarily responsible for the conception and design of the work, the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data and the drafting of the manuscript. J.Y., P.S. and D.R.N. contributed towards the conception and design of the work and revision of the manuscript. D.R.N. also contributed to the creation of software used in the work.

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Smith, J., Yeluripati, J., Smith, P. et al. Potential yield challenges to scale-up of zero budget natural farming. Nat Sustain 3 , 247–252 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0469-x

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Received : 04 October 2019

Accepted : 17 December 2019

Published : 20 January 2020

Issue Date : March 2020

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0469-x

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Original research article, impact of natural farming cropping system on rural households—evidence from solan district of himachal pradesh, india.

• 1 Department of Social Sciences, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, India
• 2 Department of Seed Science and Technology, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, India
• 3 Department of Basic Sciences, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, India
• 4 Directorate of Research, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, India
• 5 State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU), Shimla, India
• 6 Department of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, India

Natural farming, popularly known as zero budget natural farming, is an innovative farming approach. It is low input based, climate resilient, and low cost farming system because all the inputs (insect repellents, fungicides, and pesticides) are made up of natural herbs and locally available inputs, thereby reducing the use of artificial fertilizers and industrial pesticides. It is becoming increasingly popular among the smallholder farmers of Himachal Pradesh. Under the natural farming system, 3 to 12 crops are cultivated together on the same area, along with leguminous crops as intercrop in order to ensure that no piece of land is wasted and utilized properly. This article focuses mainly on the different cropping systems of natural farming and comparing the economics of natural farming (NF) with conventional farming (CF) systems. Study shows that farmers adopted five major crop combinations under natural farming system, i.e., vegetables-based cropping system (e.g., tomato + beans + cucumber and cauliflower + pea + radish), vegetables-cereals-based cropping system, and other three more cropping systems discussed in this article. The results indicated that a vegetable-based cropping system has 19.68% more net return in Kharif season and 24.64% more net return in Rabi season as compared to conventional farming vegetable-based monocropping system. NF maximizes land use and reduces the chance of crop yield loss. NF has resulted in increased returns especially in the vegetable cropping system where reduction in cost was 30.73 per cent (kharif) and 11.88 per cent (rabi) across all crop combinations in comparison to CF. It is found in study that NF was cost savings from not using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as well as higher benefit from intercrops.

Introduction

For around 58% of India's population, agriculture is their major source of income. Agriculture, forestry, and fishery had a gross value added of Rs 19.48 lac crore (US$ 276.37 billion) in fiscal year 2020. In fiscal year (FY) 2020, agricultural and allied industries accounted for 17.8% of India's gross value added (GVA) at current prices. Consumer expenditure in India would increase by as much as 6.6% in 2021. India's share in world agricultural exports increased to 2.1% in 2019 from 1.71% in 2010 ( Ministry of Commerce, 2021 ).

The country achieved its remarkable agricultural growth in the 1960s, after the emergence of the Green Revolution. India marked a new era in Indian agricultural history. The Green Revolution technology aimed to increase agricultural production mainly by substituting typically hardy plant varieties with high-response varieties and hybrids, the use of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals, irrigating more cultivated land by investing heavily on large irrigation systems, and consolidation of agricultural holdings ( Sebby, 2010 ). India has gained its outstanding position in food production, but it is also facing a poor ranking in the hunger index ( Menon et al., 2008 ). The Green Revolution left its harmful footprints on Indian agriculture. The monocropping system, increased and frequent use of fertilizers and pesticides caused considerable damage to the soil's biological operation, crop diversity, increased cost of cultivation, deterioration of groundwater, loss of flora-fauna, increased human diseases, malnutrition, and decreased soil fertility, which have almost left it barren in large areas. As a consequence, farmers with small farms invest in these costly inputs, which are exposed to high monetary risks and push them in the debt cycle ( Eliazer et al., 2019 ). With pesticides' obvious environmental and ecological effects, it is no surprise that government laws have been strengthened ( Carrington, 2019 ). Furthermore, the possible health implications of pesticide residue have terrified many of us into choosing pesticide-free items. Even though rules exist to assure legal maximum residual levels that have been considered scientifically acceptable for food, the campaign to eliminate pesticides has gained traction. Restoring soil health by reverting to non-chemical agriculture has assumed great importance in achieving sustainability in production.

In India, a chemical-free and climate-resilient method of farming given by a scientist Subhash Palekar, during 2006 in Maharashtra to end the problems arising after the Green Revolution by introducing natural farming. His methods popularized when farmers started adopting his methods. After that, many researchers and scientists claimed that natural farming is a good alternative to chemical farming that directly or indirectly impacts sustainable development positively ( Tripathi and Tauseef, 2018 ). The aim of natural farming is to reduce the cost of production to almost zero and to come back to the “pre-Green Revolution” style of agriculture ( Khadse et al., 2017 ). This would seem to lead growers out of loans by putting a stop to agricultural chemicals practices. The central government has implemented a policy to encourage farming methods throughout India. The state governments of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, and Karnataka asked Subhash Palekar to educate their farmers for natural farming ( Khadse and Rosset, 2019a , b ).

In order to promote natural farming in Himachal Pradesh, a scheme “Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan” was initiated with a budget allocation of Rs 35 crore (2019–2020). Under this scheme, peasants will be supported with training, the required machinery, to achieve the objective of sustainable farming doubling farmers' incomes, improved soil fertility, and low input costs ( Vashishat et al., 2021 ). Though the search for a better alternative shall always remain, right now natural farming is a credible alternative itself ( Mishra, 2018 ).

Natural farming is a special form of agriculture that does not requires any financial expenditure to purchase the essential inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, and plant protection chemicals from the market. Natural farming, though in its preliminary stages, is showing increased positive results and is being adopted by farmers in good faith. It is even cited by farmers that labor and production costs have drastically reduced 14–45% ( Chandel et al., 2021 ).

The cropping system of natural farming focuses mainly on traditional Indian practices based on agroecology; natural farming absolutely requires no monetary investment for purchase of key inputs at all ( Palekar, 2005 ). Due to its simplicity, adaptiveness, and huge reduction in cost of cultivation to know the impact of the cropping system of natural farming on the small and marginal farmers, this study was conducted.

The objectives of this study will be:

i) To study the socioeconomic status of the farmers.

ii) To study the comparative economics of natural farming vis-à-vis conventional farming.

iii) To identify the constraints of natural farming.

Methodology

Selection of the study area and respondents.

Solan district of Himachal Pradesh was purposely selected for this study. The district comprises five development blocks, i.e., Dharampur, Kandaghat, Nalagarh, Solan, and Kunihar. Out of these, three blocks were selected randomly and a list of farmers practicing both the Subhash Palekar Natural Farming (SPNF) and conventional farming were procured from the Project Director ATMA, Solan. From the list, 20 farmers each from the three selected blocks were selected randomly. Thus, total samples of 60 farmers were selected for this study. The primary data were collected from the farmers practicing both the natural farming and conventional farming systems by survey method using a well-structured and pre-tested schedule (questionnaire).

Distribution of Sampled Farmers Practicing Natural Farming According to Their Size of Landholding

For the analysis of data, the total respondents were divided according to the size of their landholdings into three classes, viz., 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 their landholdings.

Analytical Framework

To fulfill the above specified objectives of this study, based on the nature and extent of availability of data, the following analytical tools and techniques have been employed for the analysis of the data.

Tabular Analysis

Simple tabular analysis was used to examine socioeconomic status, resource structure, income and expenditure pattern, and farmers' opinions about the production and marketing problems under natural farming. Simple statistical tools such as averages and percentages were used to compare, contrast, and interpret the results. The sex ratio, literacy rate, and index were calculated using the following formulae:

W i = Weights (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) for illiterate, primary, middle, metric, secondary, and graduate and above, respectively.

X i = Number of persons in respective category.

Costs and Returns Analysis

Commission for agricultural costs and prices cost concepts.

Cost A 1 includes:

i) Cost of planting material cost

ii) Cost of manures, fertilizers, and plant protections

iii) Cost of hired human labor

iv) Cost of owned and hired machinery

v) Irrigation charges

vi) Depreciation on implements, farm buildings, and irrigation structures

vii) Land revenue

viii) Interest on owned working capital

ix) Other miscellaneous charges.

• Cost A 2 : Cost A 1 + rent paid for leased-in land

• Cost B 1 : Cost A 1 + interest on the fixed capital assets excluding land

• Cost B 2 : Cost B 1 + rental value of owned land

• Cost C 1 : Cost B 1 + imputed value of family labor

• Cost C 2 : Cost B 2 + imputed value of family labor

• Cost C 3 : Cost C 2 + 10% of cost C 2 on account of managerial function performed by the farmer.

Crop Equivalent Yield

In natural farming system, many types of crops were cultivated in a multiple or mixed cropping. So, it was very difficult to compare the economics of multiple crops with a single crop. Francis (1986) described crop equivalent yield (CEY) to the sum of equivalent principal and intercrop yields. The differing yield intercrops were transformed into the equivalent yield of any crop depending on the commodity price. So, a comparison was made based on economic returns and crop equivalent yield (CEY) of multiple cropping sequences was calculated by converting the yield of different intercrops/crops into equivalent yield of any one crop based on price of the produce. Mathematically, the CEY is represented as:

C Y = Yields of the main crop

P 0 = Price of the main crop

(C y1 , C y2 , C y3….. C yn ) = Yields of intercrop, which are to be converted to equivalent of main crop yield

(P 1 , P 2 , P 3 … P n ) = Price of the respective intercrops.

Relative Economic Efficiency

Farrell (1957) distinguished three types of efficiency, namely, technical efficiency, price or allocative efficiency, and economic efficiency (which is a combination of the first two). Economic efficiency is distinct from the other two efficiencies, even though it is the product of technical and allocative efficiencies. Relative economic efficiency, which is a comparative measure of economic gains, can be calculated by:

Statistical Analysis

The comparative economics was statistically analyzed as per the procedure given by Gomez and Gomez (1984) . The ANOVA was carried out based on the model in Table 2 .

Table 2 . ANOVA (two-rowed without replication) layout.

Production and Marketing Problems

To study the various problems associated with the production and marketing of natural farming, it was assumed that the extent of a particular problem varies from place to place and farmer to farmer. The multiple responses of producers reporting various problems were taken into consideration for analysis.

Garrett's Ranking Technique

The Garrett's ranking technique ( Garrett and Woodworth, 1969 ) was used for examination of constraints. It is important to note here that these constraints were focused on the response of all the sample farmers. The respondents were asked to rank the problems in turmeric and cotton production, processing, and marketing. In the Garrett's ranking technique, these ranks were converted into percent position by using the formula:

R ij = Ranking given to the ith attribute by the jth individual

N j = Number of attributes ranked by the jth individual.

By referring to the Garrett's table, the percentage positions estimated were converted into scores. Thus, for each factor, the scores of the various respondents were added and the mean values were estimated. The mean values, thus, obtained for each of the attributes were arranged in descending order. The attributes with the highest mean value were considered as the most important one and the others followed in that order.

Chi-Squared Test

To test whether there was any significant difference among marginal, small and medium farms of Solan for the problems faced by them, chi-square test ( Pearson, 1900 ) in (m × n) contingency table was applied where m and n are the number of marketing problems faced by the farmers of natural farming in Solan district. The detail of approximate chi-squared test is given as under:

O = Observed values

E = Expected values

K = Number of problems

L = Number of the farm size groups.

Results and Discussion: Socio-Economic Characteristics of Sampled Households

Size and structure of the sampled households in the study area.

The size and structure of the family play an important part in influencing crop production. The size and structure of the sampled households in the study area are given in Table 3 . At an overall level, the average family size was 5.28 out of which 51.64% were males, 39.66% were females, and 8.70% were children. The average family size ranged from 5.21 to 5.35 and was observed highest in the small farmers (5.35) followed by medium farmers (5.30) and marginal farmers (5.21). The results indicated that the dominant family structure in the area under study was the nuclear family (66.67%). It was highest in small farms (47.06%) followed by marginal (30.30%) and medium farm categories (20%).

Table 3 . Demographic profile of sampled households in the study area (No.).

Literacy Status of the Sampled Households

Literacy is an indicator of an individual's educational status and level of education enabling him/her to engage and participate in enhancing and improving the social and economic well-being of the surroundings. Good literacy skills open up doors for education and jobs, so people can avoid poverty and underemployment. The rate of literacy is a reflection of good human capital. Higher literacy leads to a higher level of awareness, interaction with new inventions and technologies, etc. The literacy status of the sampled households is given in Table 4 . It is revealed from Table 4 that the overall literacy rate was 89.70% in males and 77.52% in females and the highest literacy rate was observed in the small farm category with 91.30% in males and 78.05% in females. Table 4 shows that 23.55% males and 7.35% females had education level upto graduation and above. The literacy index varied from 1.58 to 2.30 in males among different farm categories, while the literacy index varied from 1.73 to 2.26 in females among different farm categories, which clearly show the poor quality of education. As the level of education increases, nowadays people understand the importance of better healthcare and due to that many farmers have started to focus more on natural farming and have no adverse impact on human health.

Table 4 . Farm category-wise literacy status of sampled households (%).

Occupational Distribution of the Sampled Households

The occupational patterns play a very significant role in ascertaining the economic status of the family. In this way, we know about the households engaged in various activities such as agriculture, business, and government or private services. In developing countries, the majority of the population are still engaged in agricultural activities and other primary activities. When the area is more developed, the employment patterns will be more diversified and household incomes will also increase. Development and progress of employment are very much linked to economic development. The occupational structure, allocation of workers, and number of dependents are shown in Table 5 .

Table 5 . Farm category-wise occupational distribution of the sampled households (No.).

The workforce reflects the distribution of members of the household making a contribution to the household economy. A family with more working people will be much more precise in terms of their livelihood strategies. Table 5 concludes that 81.33% of the households are engaged in agriculture, which means that agriculture being the main occupation in the study area. With the growing importance of natural farming, farmers have become more aware of the importance of health benefits and, hence, the percentage of farmers engaged in this sector is coming out highest as compared to business and services. On an average, 2.90 per worker were engaged in business and public/private sector (15.77%), respectively.

The largest proportion of productive agricultural workers was observed in the medium farm category with 83.33% followed by the marginal (81.75%) and small farm categories (70.10%). So, as far as the average number of dependents is concerned, the highest percentage was observed in the marginal farm (26.74%) followed by the small farm (26.37%) and lowest in the medium farm category (24.53%). At the overall level, productive workers were 3.88 and varied from 3.82 to 4.00 in the marginal to medium farm categories. The overall dependency ratio with respect to workers was (1:0.35) and among the different categories, the highest was observed in marginal category (1:0.37), followed by small (1:0.36) and medium farm categories (1:0.33). Dependency result illustrates that on average, one worker has to support less than one member of the family in the sampled household.

Table 6 reveals that the majority of the workforce were the males (53.81 %), while the female workers constituted 46.19%. The percentage of the male workers was the highest in medium farm category (62.50%) followed by marginal (52.94%) and small farm categories (49.09%). The proportion of female workers was considered to be the highest (50.91%) in the small farm category followed closely by the marginal (47.06%) and medium-farm categories (37.50%).

Table 6 . Gender-wise distribution of the farm workers in the sampled households (No.).

Season-Wise Major Crop Combinations Under Natural Farming System

Under natural farming system, three to four crops are cultivated or grown together on the same area, along with leguminous crops as intercrop in order to ensure that no piece of land is wasted and utilized properly. These combinations during the growing season were established to encourage interaction between them and are based on the idea that complementarities exist between the plants. Intercropping with leguminous crops is considered as one of the most important components of natural farming as it increases crop productivity and soil fertility through the atmospheric nitrogen fixation. These complementarities between crops increase soil and its nutrients. It also involves diversification and improves profits by growing and selling various types of cereals, vegetables, legumes, fruit, and even medicinal plants. The multiple cropping systems substantially enhance income. This system maximizes land use and reduces the chance of crop yield loss. This study found that farmers grow different crops under different crop combinations in the study area. The major crop combinations adopted by the selected farmers were categorized as: (i) vegetables, (ii) vegetables-cereals, (iii) vegetables-pulses, (iv) cereals-pulses, and (v) vegetables-oilseeds crops. From Table 7 , it was observed that in Kharif season, the major vegetable being grown in the study area was tomato and the other crops included were capsicum, cucumber, bottle gourd, chili, okra, brinjal, etc. The main intercrops (leguminous) in the study area include French bean and soybean. The major cereals and pulses include maize, beans, soybean, etc. While in Rabi season, cauliflower is the major vegetable followed by wheat, pea, and chickpea as the major cereals and pulses grown in the study area. The other crop includes radish, fenugreek, coriander, spinach, potato, onion, garlic, etc. Mustard was being grouped under as major oilseeds crops. The main leguminous crops (intercrops) in Rabi season were pea, chickpea, and kidney beans.

Table 7 . Season-wise major crop combinations under natural farming (NF) system.

Now, in conventional farming, as opposed to natural farming, solo cropping is practiced. From Table 8 , it was observed that the main crops grown by the farmers were tomato and maize in the Kharif season and in Rabi season, the main crops grown were cauliflower, wheat, chickpea, and mustard.

Table 8 . Season-wise major crop combinations under conventional farming (CF) system.

So, in order to compare within these two systems, one main crop is kept common between the two systems. For example, from Table 1 , in the Kharif season, in natural farming, in vegetables crop combination, it was observed that tomato is the main crop and it was being planted along with several crops. Similarly, in Table 8 , under conventional farming, it was seen under the vegetables section (Kharif season) that the main crop is tomato. So, in order to compare these two systems, a comparison was made based on economic returns and, henceforth, crop equivalent yield (CEY) of multiple cropping sequences was calculated by converting the differing yields of intercrops into the equivalent yield of the main crop, i.e., tomato (in case of vegetables crop combination for both the systems) depending on price of the produce. Similarly, CEY of other crop combinations was also calculated by using this same method mentioned above.

Comparative Analysis of Natural Farming System and Conventional Farming System

Under natural farming system, two or three crops are cultivated on the same farmland. Because different crop types were grown in a multiple or mixed crop system, it was hard to equate NFs economic produce with CF. So, to compare the yield, the crop equivalent yield (CEY) concept was used for a mixed cropping system. In the statistical analysis shown in Tables 9 , 10 , we can observe that, along the rows, all the crop combinations have significantly higher yields under NF as compared to CF in both the seasons. Now, from Table 11 , it was observed that, for all the crop combinations, the yield in the NF system was found to be higher than the CF system and it varied from 49.20 to 208.45 q/ha. The maximum yield was observed in vegetables 208.45 q/ha for the Kharif season. In the case of the Rabi season, it ranged from 48.33 to 58.12 q/ha. Same results were found like Kharif season, i.e., yield in all the crop combinations under NF was more than of CF. The maximum yield was observed in vegetables crop combination (58.12 q/ha). From Table 11 , it was observed that CEY of the NF system was found to be greater than that of those of the CF system. All the NF crop combinations show an average increase in yield over the CF system. In the Kharif season, the increase in the yield under NF system over CF system varied from 3.08 to 5.10%, while in Rabi season, it ranged from 2.83 to 7.98% in all the crop combinations. In Kharif season, the maximum increase in yield under NF was observed in vegetables and cereals-pulses in Rabi season. The above results were supported by Tripathi and Tauseef (2018) , which stated that the average of zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) groundnut farmers was 23% higher than their counterparts outside the ZBNF. On average ZBNF, paddy farmers had a 6% higher yield. These increments are the result of sustainable farming practices, which also improve farmers' capacity to adapt to climate change. Also, another study observed an increase in CEY under cereals-pulses combination (17.22%). This higher increase can be attributed to the comparative remunerative prices of pulses and symbiotic effect of pulses on cereal crop yield ( Chandel et al., 2021 ).

Table 9 . Statistical analysis of Kharif season from Table 11 .

Table 10 . Statistical analysis of Rabi season from Table 11 .

Table 11 . Crop equivalent yield (CEY) of various crop combinations under NF and conventional farming (CF) systems.

Cost of Cultivation

One of the key cost components for the production of cash crops such as fruits and vegetables under the CF system in the state is chemical inputs. This continuous farming activity has contributed to higher costs and eventually reduced incomes for farmers. A substantial decrease in the cost of growing these crops has occurred with the use of NF technology. Tables 12 , 13 indicate the statistical analysis of the cost of cultivation where we can observe that, along the rows, all the crop combinations have significantly lower costs under NF as compared to CF in both the seasons. Table 14 presents a comparison of cost of cultivation between NF and CF systems. It has been observed that the total cost of all the crop combinations in NF systems during the cultivation process was substantially reduced. In the Kharif season, the percentage reduction in NF cultivation costs over the CF system ranged from 12.56 to 30.73%, while in the Rabi season it ranged from 6.86 to 12.34%. In Kharif season, maximum reduction in cost was observed in vegetables crop combination, whereas in case of Rabi season, the maximum reduction was observed in cereal-pulses crop combination. This indicates that the NF method lowers the costs of farmers as it uses non-synthetic inputs locally in contrast to CF capital intensive inputs. Similar findings have been published, which revealed that, after converting into ZBNF, farmers had a decreased cost of cultivation for all the crops and, most significantly, farmers were able to increase their income from natural agricultural practices by increasing the number of crops ( Mishra, 2018 ). In another study, it was observed that the total cost of cultivation was reduced across all the crop combinations. The total expenditure in fruit-based cropping sequences showed a marked decline from Rs. 2,40,638 to Rs. 1,31,023 per ha., which indicate that the SPNF system reduces farmers' direct costs, boosting yields, and promotes the use of locally sourced non-synthetic inputs, compared to capital intensive CF ( Chandel et al., 2021 ).

Table 12 . Statistical analysis of Kharif season from Table 14 .

Table 13 . Statistical analysis of Rabi season from Table 14 .

Table 14 . Cost of cultivation of various crop combinations under NF and CF systems.

Conventional farming currently faces numerous challenges such as decreasing factor productivity, inappropriate and imbalanced use of nutrients, poor water and nutrient quality, depletion of natural resources, and increased input costs. Different crop combinations have clearly demonstrated that chemical-based farming technologies are highly capital intensive.

Net Returns

The profits and losses of a farm are reflected through its net income. It constitutes gross returns from the business after deduction of total cost incurred. In NF, input costs are highly diminished due to the abstinence from pesticides, insecticides, and adoption of natural inputs such as jivamrit, bijamrit, ghanjivamrit , and neemastra . NF inputs and other natural preparations have a major impact due to reduced expenditure on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The statistical analysis for net returns under NF and CF is shown in Tables 15 , 16 . Here, it is very apparent that, along the rows, all the crop combinations have significantly higher net returns under NF as compared to CF in both the seasons. Furthermore, Table 17 reveals that net returns in NF were higher than CF across all the crop combinations. The relative economic efficiency (REE), the comparative measure of economic gain in NF over the CF in all the crop combinations in the Kharif season, was 13.20 to 23.05% higher, while in the Rabi season, it was 24.16 to 31.30% higher in all the crop combinations. Maximum relative economic efficiency was observed in the cereals-pulses crop combination in the Kharif season and in Rabi season, the maximum relative economic efficiency was observed in the vegetables-pulses crop combination. Increased NF returns can be attributed to expenditure savings due to local inputs and additional revenue from intercrops. Mixed cropping helped to make more efficient use of the farm area than solo crop cultivation to further increase the net profit, in addition to increasing the variety of available crops at different times during the growing season. The results were supported by the same study undertaken by Chandel et al. (2021) which stated that the REE was 11.80 to 21.55% higher in all the crop combination under the SPNF as compared to the CF system.

Table 15 . Statistical analysis of Kharif season from Table 17 .

Table 16 . Statistical analysis of Rabi season from Table 17 .

Table 17 . Crop combination-wise net returns under NF and CF systems.

Problems Faced by the Natural Farmers

There are constraints when it comes to any development process. Likewise, there are several constraints regarding natural farming, which were faced by the concerned natural farmers of Solan district. Some of the main constraints include unfair price in the market, irrigation facilities, lack of specialized markets for the produce, high wage rates, lack of training facilities, etc. For examination of constraints, the Garrett's ranking technique was used. It must also be noted that these limitations have been aimed at the response of all the sample farmers. Table 18 shows the constraints faced by various farm categories.

Table 18 . Farm category-wise problem faced by natural farming producer in study area (Multiple response, %).

An effort was made to examine the problems between different farm categories in the field of production and marketing. The chi-squared tests have been performed to check if the problems are specified by farm category or are independent of the farm category. As prices differ greatly, producers have had problems with production and marketing due to high wage levels, lack of technical awareness, lack of safe plant material, and lack of irrigation and storage facilities. These concerns were categorized in two subgroups: production issues and marketing issues.

It was observed from Table 18 that among the production problems, shortage of skilled labor, higher wage rate, non-availability at peak operation time, and inadequate training facilities were found statistically significant. It showed significant differences between the different farm categories. In case of marketing problems, non-availability of specialized markets, lack of transport facility, and fair price in the market were found statistically significant. It showed that these problems were faced by all the farm categories.

The various problems faced by the farmers are shown in Table 19 .

Table 19 . Farmers' perceptions and problems faced by NF growers in the study area.

The Garrett's ranking system was used in this analysis, using the ranks attained by each problem to assess the most serious and the least serious problems. The major problems faced by the farmers were labor intensive (I) followed by higher wage rate (II), non-availability of specialized market (III), shortage of skilled labor (IV), knowledge of package of practices (V), consumer awareness about NF produce (VI), lack of extension facilities (VII), unfair price for produce in the market (VIII), etc. Other common problems include lack of transport facilities, lack of irrigation facilities, etc.

Intercropping with leguminous crops is considered as one of the most important components of natural farming as it increases crop productivity and soil fertility through the atmospheric nitrogen fixation. The results revealed that farmers witnessed a drop in per hectare cost of production and profitable yield for their crops as well. The farmers were pleased that natural farming is both environmentally friendly and extremely cost-effective. The crop equivalent yield (CEY) under natural farming was highest in all the crop combinations as compared to conventional farming and ranged from 3.08 to 5.10% in Kharif season and 2.83 to 7.98% in all the crop combinations in Rabi season. In Kharif season, the percentage reduction in cost of cultivation under NF over the CF system ranged from 12.56 to 30.73, while in Rabi season, it ranged from 6.86 to 12.34. The gross returns under NF systems were highest in all the crop combinations as compared to CF systems. The maximum increase in gross returns was in vegetables crop combination in both the seasons. The relative economic efficiency (REE) was highest in all the crop combinations under NF over CF system. Among the problems studied, shortage of skilled labor, higher wage rate, non-availability at peak operation time, inadequate training facilities, non-availability of specialized markets, lack of transport facility, and fair price in the market were found statistically significant. It showed significant differences between the different farm categories. The analysis showed that the natural farming system provides relatively higher returns per hectare than the conventional farming system. Also, it was observed that the major problems faced by the farmers were labor intensive (I) followed by higher wage rate (II), non-availability of specialized market (III), shortage of skilled labor (IV), knowledge of package of practices (V), consumer awareness about NF produce (VI), lack of extension facilities (VII), unfair price for produce in the market (VIII), etc. Other common problems include lack of transport facilities, lack of irrigation facilities, etc. So, there is a need for the Department of Agriculture to take up effective measures to encourage natural farming through campaigns by educating the farmers about its importance. The government should also encourage higher premium prices and channels of green marketing for the boosting of natural crops. The farmers should focus more on the full application of the NF model on their farm fields and should know the best way to use these products, i.e., proper mulching techniques (acchadan), application of jivamrit, ghanjivamrit, bijamrit, astras , etc., in order to enhance productivity.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

Author Contributions

All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

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Keywords: natural farming, sustainability, crop combinations, intercropping, Himachal Pradesh

Citation: Laishram C, Vashishat RK, Sharma S, Rajkumari B, Mishra N, Barwal P, Vaidya MK, Sharma R, Chandel RS, Chandel A, Gupta RK and Sharma N (2022) Impact of Natural Farming Cropping System on Rural Households—Evidence From Solan District of Himachal Pradesh, India. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 6:878015. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2022.878015

Received: 17 February 2022; Accepted: 08 April 2022; Published: 31 May 2022.

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Copyright © 2022 Laishram, Vashishat, Sharma, Rajkumari, Mishra, Barwal, Vaidya, Sharma, Chandel, Chandel, Gupta and Sharma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Chinglembi Laishram, chinglaish@gmail.com

This article is part of the Research Topic

Socio-Economic Evaluation of Cropping Systems for Smallholder Farmers – Challenges and Options

Fukuoka, Natural Farming, and the Developing World

Buddhism and agriculture - part 3.

In his later life, Masanobu Fukuoka became very concerned with using natural farming to solve real-world problems. This was reflected in the progression of ideas in his writings. In his first book, The One-Straw Revolution , Fukuoka (1978/2009) outlined the philosophy and practice of natural farming. In his final book, Sowing Seeds in the Desert (Fukuoka, 1996/2012), he provided a more concrete manifesto of how natural farming can provide solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. This includes a strong focus on some of the major issues affecting farming communities in developing countries.

In my first article in this series , I explored the philosophy of Masanobu Fukuoka and his system of natural farming, drawing mostly on The One-Straw Revolution . In the second article , I reported on my visit to Fukuoka-sensei’s farm in Iyo and how things have changed there since he passed away in 2008. In this post, I would like to make some general reflections on whether the philosophy and methodology of natural farming (as defined by Fukuoka-sensei) can offer benefits to poor farmers in developing countries. This post provides only some initial reflections – much more work needs to be done to document and evaluate Fukuoka’s impact in the developing world. I would, therefore, invite you to read this post and engage by leaving your thoughts in the comments section, below.

Healing the World

In Sowing Seeds in the Desert , Fukuoka (2012) treats the problems of developing societies as part of a generalised sickness afflicting all of the modern world. The symptoms of this sickness appear in the form of desertification, overpopulation, hunger and other malaises. Parts of the world – the deserts, the slums, the mountains of waste and the hollowed-out mines – are crying out for healing. According to Fukuoka, however, the road to recovery must be holistic. To illustrate this, he draws on the distinction between Western medicine – which focuses on the localised treatment of sickness – with Eastern medicine – which concerns itself with the holistic conditions of health. In so doing, he makes note that Eastern medicine’s concern with holistic health has become difficult, as we have all become so estranged from the conditions of true health (i.e., a healthy natural environment and lifestyle) that we have lost sight of what health means.

Whether the disease is in an individual body or at the level of societies or ecosystems, the path to healing lies in reconsidering the relationship between humanity and nature. As such, it is clearly not as simple as attempting to fix specific problems with a new technological intervention. The Green Revolution demonstrates clearly enough that producing more food has not had the effect of reducing hunger (see Rosset, 2000; Vanhaute, 2011). Healing occurs in relations of love, care, and joy, which bring the organism back into its condition of integration with the natural world.

When it comes to social problems like poverty and environmental destruction, the modern mentality tends to assume that the solution will lie in more ‘rational’ modern interventions: through a new efficiency measure, new technology, new development program and so on. We hope that the problem of poverty can be solved through more consumption, without recognising the extent to which consumption is part of the problem. Fukuoka steps back and observes how many of our problems relate to the simple fact that we have lent value to material possessions. If we allowed ourselves to place value on things other than ownership, many of our problems would drop away. Returning to nature by way of agriculture would allow us to live simple lives where the need for endlessly expanding consumption would be far less. Unfortunately, global agri-business has removed access to agriculture for the many of us. This begins to get closer to the root cause of the systemic illness: alienation from agriculture and, by implication, alienation from the natural world. Fukuoka points out that modern consumer societies like Japan and most Western nations have become very vulnerable, as their estrangement from agriculture means that people will lack a means of survival in the (inevitable) event of an economic collapse.

When Fukuoka looks to poorer countries, he almost seems more hopeful. He suggests that many Asian and African countries have retained a “proud agrarian ethic” and that for them, a shift towards more urbanisation in the manner of Japan and the West would be highly destructive. In saying this, he retains the somewhat romantic notion that agrarian populations would rather not be a part of modern society, citing an Ethiopian nomad who once told him that accumulating material possessions was a degrading way to live. He suggests that most of the world’s farmers see skyscrapers as ‘tombstones of the human race’ (Fukuoka, 2012: 56). 1

Fukuoka provides an insightful analysis of how post-colonial states came to lose their biodiversity and farmers’ self-sufficiency. Referring specifically to Eastern Africa, he suggests that the initial disruption to natural farming in the region came with the colonial imposition of monocultures, which killed off the forests and native varieties of cereals and vegetables. Ultimately, this left farmers in a position in which they lacked access to the seeds necessary for basic self-sufficiency. Furthermore, they drew up boundaries and imposed national parks on the people, unsettling the grazing patterns of nomads, which had occurred in a sustainable, cyclical fashion for centuries, forcing them into ever-more inconvenient arrangements and ultimately leading them to conflict amongst themselves. All of this was compounded by the fact that postcolonial states have tended to promote cash-cropping and urbanisation at the expense of rural self-sufficiency. Indeed, Fukuoka claims that on travelling to Somalia, he was requested by authorities not to promote farmer self-sufficiency too much by providing them with seeds.

In short, Fukuoka sees the colonial intervention, the imposition of modernity, and our alienation from nature as the source of the ‘disease’. The ‘cure’ can only be to rebuild the rural self-sufficiency that colonialism pulled away. This implies revegetation of lands damaged by decades and centuries of intensive cultivation, re-building agri-biodiversity and a re-establishing a healthy relationship with the earth. This is the pathway towards healing the world and healing ourselves.

Natural Farming to Revegetate the World’s Deserts

In the final quarter of his life, revegetating deserts and deforested areas in developing countries became one of Fukuoka-sensei’s chief interests. In doing this, he followed the same basic principles as he had in formulating his methods of natural farming. His guiding assumption was that the trouble of desertification was misguided human interventions into nature, and that the solution lay in removing these interventions and allowing nature to run its course.

The mainstream solution to desertification has been irrigation. The assumption is that more water will allow dried-out areas to be cropped once again. In Sowing Seeds in the Desert , Fukuoka (2012) argues against this approach, as it relies on the construction of harmful dams or the tapping of finite ground water reserves and may ultimately lead to the salinisation of soils. Instead, he promotes minimal use of water and the careful broadcasting of diverse seeds. One must sow ground-covers and grasses to cool the soil and create a mulch; trees to provide shade and bring water up from underground; poisonous plants to keep away goats; legumes to promote the proliferation of micro-organisms in the soil; and densely growing plants such as bamboo to prevent erosion along riverbanks. In this way, he deployed the methods of natural farming to address desertification and claimed some success in this endeavour in Eastern Africa and India.

Ideally, Fukuoka argued that the best approach to revegetation was to broadcast a diverse variety of seeds across the desert in clay pellets. The pellets would provide the seeds protection, moisture and sustenance and allow them to remain dormant for long periods. From there, one could leave the process up to nature. When rain finally came, suitable seeds would germinate and begin a process of rebuilding a natural ecosystem. Though most of the plants would not survive the desert conditions, even those that died might remain in the soil as mulch, nourishing other plants and cooling the soil. Trees would take root and bring up water from beneath the ground, simultaneously hydrating and cooling. Soon enough, animals would return, and a chain reaction of greening would be initiated.

In spreading these seeds, Fukuoka cared little for whether the seeds were native or not. Certainly, having some local varieties would be important, as plants from arid regions would be most suitable to the dry, hot, occasionally salty conditions of desertified lands. Nonetheless, Fukuoka insists that the movement of organisms has already become globalised and there is no point in imposing limits on which plants to sow. What’s more, the global environment has changed so much that there is no guarantee that the native varieties are, any more, the best suited to rebuild the deserts. As such, he suggested suggests:

I think we should mix all the species together and scatter them worldwide, completely doing away with their uneven distribution. This would give nature a full palette to work with as it establishes a new balance given the current conditions. I call this the Second Genesis. (Fukuoka, 2012, p. 95)

Initiating this ‘Second Genesis,’ however, proved challenging. As I described in a previous article in this series, Fukuoka was ultimately very disappointed with the limited global impact of his work. This was especially true of his efforts to combat desertification. During our visit to the farm in November, his grandson Hiroki-san informed us that Fukuoka-sensei felt disappointed that despite the tremendous potential of his plans to revegetate deserts, they were only being practiced on small tracts of land.

Fukuoka in India

During our visit to Fukuoka-sensei’s farm in Iyo, his grandson, Hiroki-san, informed us that in all the world there were probably only ten people practicing natural farming in the manner that his grandfather had taught. Many others had adopted aspects of his methods, but were unwilling to leave things to nature to such a large extent as Fukuoka-sensei – they are only partially practicing ‘natural farming’ (and Hiroki-san included himself in this). Those who were practicing a pure form of natural farming were mostly doing it as an experiment or as a way of life, but not as a commercial initiative, and they were overwhelmingly from wealthier countries. Furthermore, the overwhelming number of visitors coming to the farm today are from Europe and North America. It is telling that a farming method that has the potential to mend the damaged lands of the post-colonial world and which requires very little expenditure on labour and other inputs, has not become more popular amongst the peasant societies of Asia, Africa and Latin America. This was despite Masanobu Fukuoka’s extensive efforts at revegetation in the Philippines, Thailand and East Africa.

The one developing country in which Fukuoka-sensei did made some in-roads, however, was India. Indeed, even today, The One-Straw Revolution can often be found in a great variety of India’s bookstores and is well-known, ironically, amongst the urban middle classes. In India in the early 1990s, Fukuoka found a government receptive to his ideas regarding the regeneration of arid lands, which agreed to support projects of aerial seed drops. According to Fukuoka’s own account in Sowing Seeds in the Desert , these seed drops, in which clay seed balls were dropped from planes on damaged lands, were mostly successful and led to the sprouting of wild rice along the Ganges and new mangroves in the Ganges Delta.

For many pages of Sowing Seeds in the Desert , however, Fukuoka elaborates on one of his less successful endeavours – the Chambal Gorge, a desertified region of Madhya Pradesh. This region, once a forest home to elephants and tigers, had been subject to rapid and severe desertification. He found the lands red and barren. Even after seed dropping, very little vegetation had taken root: the seeds either failed to germinate, were washed away by rains or were eaten by goats. Fukuoka was forced to reflect in some length as to why his seed ball method was not generating results. He came to the conclusion that this land had been so damaged, that repair would take longer than planned. Though his spirits were lifted by the few patches of green growing in the shadows between rocks, he ultimately had to consider the root causes of desertification which were making recovery so difficult. In this region, he claimed, deforestation, over-grazing and erosion had severed the vital connections between water, soil, plants and micro-organisms, which, in nature make up a single, living unit. There was, essentially, no living soil.

In his discussion of these issues in Madhya Pradesh, Fukuoka drifts into deep reflection on the causes of the crisis, but a clear solution is not provided. His final suggestions to the Indian government, however, was that they should simply be more persistent and continue to drop seed balls year after year with the hope that some would eventually generate the desired effect. He suggested that all barriers to the free transfer of seeds from Japan should be lifted (such as quarantining), that there should be no restrictions on access to wasteland (to allow seeding to be done by farmers) and that farmers should be given free and easy access to seed banks. He complains that India’s onerous bureaucratic procedures were making it too difficult for farmers to gain access to seeds and sow them. The process needed to be simplified. Having said all this, given the very modest gains from aerial seed dropping, it seems unlikely that simply allowing the further spread of seeds would generate instant, miraculous results.

Part of Fukuoka’s attraction to India was the strong resonance between his ideas and those of Mahatma Gandhi. Both Fukuoka and Gandhi had been critical of science, both encouraged simple agrarian lifestyles and both critiqued the way that modernity encouraged a proliferation of desires for material goods that could never be met. In 1997, Fukuoka again travelled to India to attend a Gandhi seminar, to mark 50 years of India’s Independence. In a film documenting this visit , we see Fukuoka speaking of a world in turmoil, in which more and more people are coming to him for direction. Here, he asserts the value of Gandhi’s philosophy, suggesting that we are at a crossroads and that the fate of the world rests on how effectively we can embrace Gandhi and live simpler lives, restraining our desires. Despite this, there are clearly points of difference. In dialogue with Gandhians, he refused to accept purist adherence to vegetarianism. He acknowledges that too much meat is not good, but argues that prohibitions on eating particular foods on the basis of religion are causing people to become confused. Nature should be the guide to what is acceptable to eat and nature does not have a problem with one animal consuming another.

The documentary is also revealing in showing the kind of advice Fukuoka-sensei attempted to bestow on Indian farmers. During his visit to India in 1997, Fukuoka-sensei met with a number of practicing natural farmers, many of whom were struggling and in need of advice. Interestingly, the documentary shows that he was equally philosophical in his dialogues with farmers as he was in his books – speaking of the futility of human knowledge and the value in leaving things to nature. He was purist in his adherence to principle, reprimanding farmers for even slight tillage of the soil or having fixed ideas of how nature ought to behave. He holds to the value of scattering seed, and makes the point that in desertified lands, one need only be more rigorous, scattering seed balls continually until they take root.

At the end of the film, Fukuoka-sensei visits the farm of Bhaskar Save, perhaps the most prominent farmer to be inspired by both his philosophy and that of Gandhi. Touring Save’s farm on a bullock cart, Fukuoka declares it to be superior to his own farm and the best natural farm he has seen anywhere in the world.

Although many in India seem to have been inspired by the philosophy of Fukuoka, very few have strictly adopted the practices of natural farming. Rajagopalan, head of the Gandhi Peace Foundation, in a piece on the Foundation’s website , writes in great praise of Fukuoka and the harmonies between his philosophies and Gandhi’s. Yet, he concludes his piece with a ‘cautionary note,’ advising that the method of simply scattering seed balls is not appropriate for the Indian climate and that to attempt to apply it there would be ‘disastrous.’ While I believe this may be an over-statement, it is noteworthy that even Bhaskar Save, supposedly the chief example of a natural farmer in India, writes within his own publications that he is not a natural farmer in the purest sense. Save points out that although his mature orchards can be said to be “natural” and the goal is always to establish a system that needs minimal human intervention, young plants still need to be cared for by the farmer in the early stages, just as a child needs care from a mother (Save, 2008: 27-28) . Fukuoka-sensei, by contrast, advocated leaving nature to provide this love and care for the young plants.

Given that someone like Bhaskar Save, who had become an ideological figurehead for natural farming in India, was unable to carry out the philosophy to the letter, it seems unlikely that the average farmer could find herself comfortable with ever being a purely ‘natural farmer.’ In the above-mentioned documentary, Fukuoka talks to farmers who have attempted his approach and encountered losses. After they describe their experiences to him, he tells them that the problem was the sowing time. Seeds were scattered either too early or too late. He advises them to experiment the following season broadcasting seed balls either one month earlier or one month after and suggests that after 2-3 years he will have it figured out. One wonders if the average Indian farmer, knee-deep in debt and confronted with fluctuating markets and the insecurity of environmental change, can afford the additional gamble of a farming method whose results are contingent upon trial-and-error experimentation on each and every farm.

My own research has focused on attempts to promote more sustainable farming systems in India. The farmers I have encountered who had experimented with Fukuoka-sensei’s methods mostly discontinued. They retained a strong belief in the theory and philosophy of natural farming, but their own experience of failure with ‘do-nothing’ techniques led them to believe that Fukuoka-sensei’s level of intuitive understanding of nature far surpassed their own and that it was not possible for them to be true natural farmers in practice. They remained inspired by his ideas but could not follow them all the way to the end. Perhaps, ultimately, this is the more ‘natural’ approach: nature rarely follows the same principles in all circumstances – it makes do with what it can manage, forges impromptu, contingent solutions, and combines awkwardly diverse elements to build systems and sub-systems most suited to the local level.

Do-Nothing Development?

Despite a tremendous global interest in Fukuoka-sensei’s ideas, the practical impact of natural farming on the ground has been rather modest: a fact of which Fukuoka himself was all-too-painfully aware. I believe that the core reason for this is that unlike other systems of sustainable, chemical-free farming (such as agro-ecology and permaculture), natural farming has not been able to pitch itself as a solution to farming communities’ most urgent social and economic needs. Indeed, where agro-ecology and permaculture promote scientifically-backed methods to allow communities to meet their aspirations, Fukuoka instead offers a more bitter medicine: communities should reconsider their aspirations – consider wanting less , doing less .

A further challenge of natural farming is ensuring that the methods of promotion are congruent with Fukuoka-sensei’s overall philosophy. Grand initiatives to revegetate large tracts of land are often too dependent upon centralised, state-led interventions that require a great deal of planning, money, technology and long-term commitment. Yet, natural farming claims to aim for effortless action – action that is an extension of natural processes. In the context of global neoliberal hegemony, however, natural farming is quite the opposite: it is like swimming against the flow of the stream.

Could we imagine Fukuoka’s ‘do-nothing farming’ as being embedded within a model of ‘do-nothing development’? A model of development that, rather than being dependent upon large coordinated teams of middle class development workers is instead a kind of ‘minimal gesture’: a passing on of a few simple tools or ideas, that quickly proliferate through the ‘natural’ dispositions of rural communities throughout the world?

Why begin with what is challenging? Why attempt to convert commercial farmers, for whom it has become ‘natural’ to farm for money? Why attempt to capture large state-funded projects, when it is known that the state, in the long term, will always act in the interests of capital? Why not recognise the domains in which natural farming does resonate with what people do naturally?

Children have an innate interest in nature and the method of creating clay seed balls and scattering them in desertified and damaged lands could be seen as great fun. Sowing seeds in the desert could easily be embedded in school science programs, as a kind of experiment. Revegetation could be seen not as ‘work’ but as ‘play’ and also ‘research.’ Such a project could be an opportunity for learning for students on a wide array of subjects: from biodiversity and ecological inter-connectedness to plant biology. And ultimately the seeds that such projects would sow within the children’s hearts might be the most fruitful of all.

• I would suggest that on this issue Fukuoka greatly under-estimates the pull that modernity exerts over all of us, including farmers. In my experience in India, the majority of people in the countryside are looking for pathways out of agriculture. We need to accept this fact to move forward.

Fukuoka, M. (1978/2009). The One-Straw Revolution (L. Korn, C. Pearce & T. Kurosawa, Trans.). New York Review Books: New York.

Fukuoka, M. (1996/2012). Sowing Seeds in the Desert (L. Korn, Ed. & Trans.). White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing.

Rosset, P. (2000). Lessons from the Green Revolution. Oakland: Food First [online]. Available from: http://www.foodfirst.org/media/opeds/2000/4-greenrev.html

Save, B. (2008). The Great Agricultural Challenge (transcribed by Bharat Mansata). Kolkata: Earthcare Books.

Vanhaute, E. (2011). From famine to food crisis: What history can teach us about local and global subsistence crises. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 38(1), 47–65.

Dr Trent Brown

The mud room: stacking functions in design, check out your permaculture tool box.

Hi, I live in the The Great Basin high desert on border of Nevada and California. I live in a natural desert and I have had different levels of success with spreading seeds. There are specific species (sagebrush, rabbit brush, penstemmon, rocky mountain bee balm) that do very well here and can be spread randonly onto ground with no irrigation. The problem comes with your zone 1, 2 and 3 where you add irrigation. Irrigation will cause a massive amount of weeds and you have to seed at 4 times the recommended rate to barely compete with weeds in spring. I have found that cluster planting perennials and deep heavy mulch works alot better. Because I live in a cold desert the growing season is very marginal and you have to give plants proper spacing or else they compete for sunlight and become leggy and stunted. This is all a massive amount of trial and error. I have seeded whole areas with 1000s of seeds and watched as all plants become stunted after initial success and them the weeds find away to shade out your weakling plants. Alfalfa has been a champion. Extremely drought tolerant, heals the soil and grows massive during the random torrential high desert storms. I have altered my seeding methods to include a catch crop at end of summer when most of the weeds stop sprouting. Its mostly daikon radish (fukuoka inspired) because I can still harvest them under the snow up until Christmas when the ground freezes. I think your very right in that methods need to be applied to the right circumstance. Fukuoka was a master of his environment. And his commitment to letting nature run its course is a spiritual journey worth undertaking. But I specifically had to alter my course and use desert ecology to guide me. Thanks for the article, I have loved all of them!

Hey Trent, this is a good read and thanks for sharing your perspective about Natural farming in India.

Thank you very much for this profound article!

Or, in answer to the Endnote 1, transform our society and economy to the degree where natural farmers are recognized as the caretakers of not just the environment but humanity, and be paid accordingly; not crushed by the “free market” economy to the lowest level of subsistence and even, as in India, suicide.

We living in a world in which the biggest and most wealthy companies produce nothing except a waste of time and energy, ie the Facebooks of the world, and speculatively gambling on imaginary 1s and 0s in the money market is worth billions, while the people who produce the food & environment we survive on can’t even afford the basics of life.

That is something that needs changed, How … I have no idea.

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• Organic Farming Essay

An introduction to Essay on Organic Farming

Organic farming describes how it uses organic elements and composts and tries to expand soil richness by taking care of soil miniature existence with build-ups from life. For example, trash fertilizer, sewage, excrement, plant deposits, food handling squanders, etc. This essay on organic farming will help you to discover the parts and importance of organic farming. 

This article also deals with the advantages and barriers to it. The organic farming essay also explains the principles behind it and how it is different from the traditional farming technique. An essay on organic farming is essential because it helps us understand the advantages of organic farming and also tells us how the effect of normal farming is harmful.

Segments of Organic Farming

Segments of Organic Farming are discussed below in detail.

Organic Manures

Organic manure provides basic nutrients that are required by plants in limited edition. It is a natural practice adopted by farmers to provide food (plant nutrients) to crop plants. There are various organic manures that are used by farmers such as farm wastes, oilcakes, vermicompost, and biological waste - animal bone. 

Biological Pest Management

The preservation of regular pests is significant for evading the utilization of compound pesticides. Organic pesticides, for example, neem, tobacco and other restorative plants need promotion. Specific microbial pesticides, for instance, Bacillus Thuringiensis offer a guarantee. It is essential to have biological pest management to improve the quality of the soil.

Non-Chemical Weed Control 

Mechanical strategy for weed control is commonly polished to lessen the weed populace. Organic control of weed needs promotion. 

Agronomical Practices

Yield revolution, blended trimming, green manuring practices will improve the physical and compound properties of soil. Consideration of leguminous yields in these practices adds to the ripeness. 

Alley Cropping

Coordination of lasting plants (generally leguminous) in the cultivating framework is called backstreet trimming. 

Principles of Organic Farming

No Chemical Fertilizer

In the event that nature is left to itself, fruitfulness is expanded, organic remains from plants and creatures gather and are deteriorated on a superficial level by microbes and growths. Utilizing straw, green compost, and ranch yard excrement, one can get significant returns without substance manure. 

No Use of Herbicide

Straw mulch and impermanent flooding give successful weed control in numerous fields. 

No Use of Pesticides

The preservation of common adversaries of irritations and the utilization of organic pesticides stay away from the utilization of synthetic pesticides. 

Upkeep of Healthy Soil

Soil well-being is kept up by developing vegetables, green manuring, green leaf manuring, crop pivot, entomb, and blended editing, including vegetables.

Importance of Organic Farming Essay

It doesn't bring about any ecological contamination since it evades the utilization of substance and plant insurance synthetic compounds. 

Less energy is utilized in organic cultivating contrasted with ordinary horticulture.

Less motorization is required. 

Less unsettling influence of soil, legitimate structure, high organic issue substance will be kept up. 

Organic food gets more cost than the product acquired by regular strategies.

Threats to Organic Farming

In changing over to organic cultivating, an underlying harvest misfortune, by and large, happens, especially whenever done rapidly. 

Land assets can move unreservedly from organic cultivating to regular cultivating; they don't move the converse way openly. 

Organic controls may have been debilitated, which may take three or four years for deposits to misfortune their impact.

Short Essay On Organic Farming

Organic farming is an essential part of today’s world. Organic cultivating implies cultivating in the organic connection between soil, water, and plants; between soil, soil organisms, and side-effects. This also implies the connection between the plant realm and the collective of animals; among agribusiness and ranger service; between soil, water and environment. Nature receives diverse techniques to gracefully supplement the dirt and keep up the soil’s fruitfulness. The gracefulness of supplements is undisrupted in nature. The plant leaves produce carbs and later change these carbohydrates into sugar, starch, cellulose, lignin, and so on. 

Organic compost includes mixing carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash rich materials. The minor components are available in extent, and the pivotal carbon-nitrogen proportion is neither too high nor excessively low. This sort of arrangement is inside the capability of ranchers. There is no need to include some nitrogenous manure as a supplement. The nitrogenous substance compost agitates the supplement equalization of soil. Nitrogenous manure is known as an energizer of development, and there is furore for it among the ranchers. Organic farming has many benefits in today’s world and it is esteemed to be much more cautious than the traditional ways of farming. This method, when used, can improve the health of people and the richness of soil on which farming is done. The reliance on these methods is beneficial as they provide more nutritious crops and better nourishment.

Through organic farming, the fertility of soil gets improved. Organic movement and the physical and mineral nature of the dirt are contributing factors. Organic farming is preferred over other modes for this very reason.

FAQs on Organic Farming Essay

1. What is the focus of Organic Farming?

Organic creation of yields is fundamentally the same as normal creation for planting, gathering. Assortments are normally the equivalent. Ripeness, weeds and different nuisances should be overseen in a more serious manner. Harvest pivot and timing of mechanical development are basic to progress. The mix of animals, to help gracefully excrement/fertilizer supplements will likewise be an advantage. Consider joining a few of the natural cultivating affiliations, for example, Canadian Organic Growers (COG) or Ecological Farmers of Ontario (EFO) to build your organization of natural cultivating contacts particularly among other natural ranchers in your general vicinity. 

2. What are the six basic methods of Organic Farming Practices?

The six basic methods of Organic Farming practices are crop diversity, soil management, weed management, controlling other organisms, livestock and genetic modification. These different methods are used in organic farming to improve yield and make farming more efficient. Organic farming methods improve the yield by following traditional practices with new scientific technology.

3. How do students learn about the basics of Organic Farming?

Organic farming can be intimidating for beginners, and one can start little by little and then advance. Basics can be learnt through many sources and sites now available even online. Students can learn about the basics of Organic Farming if they go to Organic Farming Essay for Students in English available on this page. This essay deals with what Organic Farming essentially is and what its advantages, as well as disadvantages, amount to. 

Natural Farming – process, advantages and challenges – Explained, pointwise

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• 1 Introduction
• 2 What is Natural farming?
• 3 How Natural farming is different from other methods?
• 4 How are the soil nutrients managed in Natural farming?
• 5.1 Initiatives at the state level
• 6 What are the advantages of shifting to Natural farming?
• 7 What are the challenges in adopting natural farming?
• 8 What should be done to promote natural farming?

Introduction

Recently, the Prime Minister urged all state governments to introduce natural farming. The Prime Minister observed, “We need to unlearn the wrong practices that have crept into our agriculture.”

Andhra Pradesh has been promoting natural farming for some time now. Australian soil microbiologist and climate scientist Walter Jehne has said, “regenerative agricultural practices adopted in Andhra Pradesh have fundamentally changed the economic viability of farming and enormously empowered local communities to take charge of their future.”

What is Natural farming?

Natural farming is related to soil microbiology. It involves chemical-free farming and livestock-based farming methods .

It is a diversified farming system that integrates crops, trees and livestock, allowing the optimum use of functional biodiversity.

It has many indigenous forms in India, the most popular one is practised in Andhra Pradesh called Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) .

How Natural farming is different from other methods?

Modern agriculture is based on the principle that the soil has to be replenished by chemical nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous, depending on the intake by the crop. Using chemical inputs reduces the microbe population and hinders this natural process.

In organic farming , similarly, the soil is replenished by applying organic manure like cow dung. But since cow dung contains very little nitrogen, massive amounts have to be applied, which may be difficult for a farmer to arrange.

Natural farming works on the principle that there is no shortage of nutrients in soil, air and water, and healthy soil biology can unlock these nutrients.

How are the soil nutrients managed in Natural farming?

A cow dung-based bio-stimulant is prepared locally by fermenting dung with cow urine, jaggery and pulses flour . The requirement of dung is very low compared to organic farming, just about 400 kg for an acre of land.

The fermented solution when applied to fields increases the microbial count in the soil, which supplies the plants with essential nutrients ( Jivamrit ).

This farming method also uses a host of other interventions . Seeds are treated with cow dung-based stimulant which protects young roots from fungus and other soil and seed-borne diseases ( Beejamrit ).

The fields are managed to have some green cover around the year to aid carbon capture by plants from the air and nurture the soil-carbon-sponge. This also keeps the microbes and other organisms like earthworms alive which helps the soil become porous and retain more water ( Whapsa ).

During the cultivation of main crops, crop residues are used as mulch ( Acchadana  or Mulching) to retain soil moisture and prevent the growth of weeds .

Growing multiple crops in the same patch of land also raises soil fertility.

About Natural farming in India

Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP) is a sub-mission under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) which falls within the umbrella of the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) . The scheme aims to promote traditional indigenous practices, which give freedom to farmers from externally purchased inputs.

Initiatives at the state level

Andhra Pradesh launched natural farming as a state policy in 2015. The state is now home to the largest number of farmers in India who have transitioned from chemical nutrients to applying locally prepared natural inputs.

Further, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have adopted natural farming as part of the state policy.

What are the advantages of shifting to Natural farming?

Small and marginal farmers who spend a lot of money on chemical inputs will benefit the most by taking up this type of farming.

Improving farmers’ income : The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides can be replaced with locally prepared stimulants while maintaining comparable yields. This will reduce cost of cultivation by 60-70%. Natural farming also makes soil softer and enhances the taste of food. Thereby, it can result in higher net income for farmers .

A study undertaken by Andhra University (surveyed over 3500 natural and conventional farms) found that Net revenues for paddy farmers were higher by 15-65% depending on the crop season, while for commercial crops like chillies, cotton and onion, net revenues were 40-165% more than conventional farming. Average net returns from natural farming were 50% higher.

Reduce the dependence on credit : A panel survey of 260 farm households which were surveyed in 2018-19 and 2019-20, found that natural farming reduced the dependence on credit, freeing many farmers from exploitative and interlinked input and credit markets.

Reduce India’s fertilizer subsidy bill : India’s fertilizer subsidy bill, driven by a spike in natural gas and other raw material prices, is estimated to touch a staggering ₹1.3 trillion in 2021-22. Promoting natural farming can reduce these costs to the exchequer.

More flexible than organic farming : Organic farming is more about certification, while natural farming is a gradual process. But, there is relative flexibility in natural farming for adoption. This makes it easier for small farmers to transition.

Benefit end consumers : At present, consumers are forced to purchase food with chemical residues in it. Certified organic food is more expensive, but the sheer cost savings in natural farming can ensure safe food at affordable prices .

Helps in combating climate change : Natural farming not just create cost savings for farmers, but also ensure higher carbon fixation into the soil, which can mitigate climate change.

Natural farming based land management and farming practices can rehydrate and re-green the global landscape. Further, it can meet fertility (requirements of soil) and the nutritional integrity of the food.

Reduce Ocean acidification : Since natural farming eliminates chemical fertilisers and pesticides, it reduces ocean acidification and marine pollution from land-based activities. It also helps to reduce the contamination and degradation of rivers and oceans, like contamination of ammonium nitrate in fertilisers, and hazardous chemical pollutants from pesticides into rivers and oceans.

What are the challenges in adopting natural farming?

First , some agriculture experts feel that it is premature to recommend widespread adoption of natural farming as it may lead to massive damage to the hard-earned knowledge and benefits of agricultural research and development over the last 70 years.

Second , India’s crop protection industry is valued at ₹18,000 crores. Promoting natural methods will threaten the very existence of their entire business ecosystem.

Third , natural farming can improve soil health and reduce the incidence of pest infestation, but that does not mean farmers can manage without chemicals during outbreaks .

Fourth , limited support from the Central Government : India’s National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture receives only 0.8% of the agricultural budget.

What should be done to promote natural farming?

First , a balanced approach should be adopted while promoting Natural farming. The experience of Sri Lanka must be kept in mind where the Government at once prohibited the use and import of chemical fertilizers leading to massive drop in production and shortage of food.

Second , the experience in Andhra Pradesh shows that a transition can be successful if farmers are convinced and gradually ease into natural farming, a process that can take between three-five years . Hence, the government should provide adequate time, promote awareness campaigns with practical examples. Civil Society Organizations can be engaged to promote farmer-to-farmer capacity building for sustainable agriculture.

Third , the practice of natural farming needs to be validated by scientific research. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research is designing a curriculum on natural farming for both undergraduate and post-graduate courses, which is a good first move.

Fourth , the application of pesticides in India is many times lower than in countries like US and Japan. Farmers need to use chemicals judiciously to further lower the application of pesticides.

National policy focus should be shifted from food to nutrition security, looking beyond yields. Government can support the transition and bear short-term losses . Instead of input-based subsidies for fertilizer and power, the focus should be to incentivize outcomes like nutrition output, water conserved or desertification reversed.

Source: Mint

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• Zero Budget Natural Farming

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is a type of chemical-free farming where the total cost of growing and harvesting plants comes out to be zero (taking into consideration the costs incurred by the farmers are recovered through inter-cropping).

The topic, ‘Zero Budget Natural Farming,’ gained prominence when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned it in her 2019 budget speech, speaking of it as a source of doubling farmers’ income. This article will mention the important facts about Zero Budget Natural Farming to help IAS Exam aspirants for GS-III preparation.

About Zero Budget Natural Farming

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZNBF) is the practice of growing crops without the use of any external inputs, such as pesticides and fertilisers. The phrase “Zero Budget” refers to all crops with zero production costs. The farmers’ revenue is increased as a result of ZBNF’s guidance towards sustainable farming methods that help to maintain soil fertility, assure chemical-free agriculture, and ensure a cheap cost of production (zero cost). Simply said, ZBNF is a farming technique that emphasises cultivating crops in harmony with the environment. Under the specific programme known as Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) , the government has been encouraging organic farming. This programme supports all different types of chemical-free agricultural methods, including Zero Budget Natural Farming.

Principles of Zero Budget Natural Farming

Below are key principles of Zero Budget Natural Farming:

• Zero external inputs
• Crops to cover the soil for 365 days (Living Root)
• Soil disturbance at a minimum
• Biostimulants as essential catalysts
• Utilize native seed for mixed farming
• Mixed cropping
• The incorporation of trees onto the farm
• Conservation of moisture and water
• Bring animals into farming
• More organic debris in the soil
• Using plant extracts to control pests
• No artificial pesticides, herbicides, or fertilisers

Benefits of Zero Budget Natural Farming

Below are some of the major benefits of Zero Budget Natural Farming:

• For all crops, ZBNF methods use between 50 and 60 per cent less water and electricity compared to non-ZBNF methods.
• Through multiple aerations, ZBNF greatly lowers methane emissions.
• By using mulching, it is also possible to prevent the burning of residue.
• In ZBNF, cultivation costs are lower.
• The cost of production could be decreased and agriculture could be turned into a “zero budget” endeavour since under ZBNF there is no requirement of spending money or taking out loans for external inputs.
• This will enable many small farmers to escape the debt cycle and pave the way for the income of farmers to double.
• Organic foods thus avoid diseases which used to be caused by non-organic foods, in a long run will not only make people healthy but also reduce the burden on the healthcare infrastructure in general.
• It suits all crops in all agro-climatic zones.

Concerns with Zero Budget Natural Farming

• Government spending is low: In 2018, the government introduced the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, a centrepiece programme for the Green Revolution, with an appropriation of Rs 3,745 crore for the fiscal year 2019–20. While just Rs 325 crore was allotted to the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, which was created to encourage organic farming and soil health.
• After observing that their ZBNF yields began to decline after a few years, many farmers switched back to conventional farming.
• While ZBNF has unquestionably contributed to maintaining soil fertility, its impact on increasing productivity and farmers’ income is still inconclusive.
• The first organic state in India, Sikkim, has noticed some yield declines since switching to organic farming.
• The long-term effect and viability of the ZBNF Model should be properly validated before it is widely pushed across the nation, according to agricultural scientists.
• ZBNF adoption on a large scale could have a negative influence on farmer income and food security. So it is necessary to conduct a proper scientific confirmation of ZBNF’s effectiveness.

Components of Zero Budget Natural Farming

There are four primary ZNBF components and models:

Bijamrita : As native cow species are more adapted to our region’s climatic circumstances and easier for small and marginal farmers to maintain, the seeds are treated with formulations made using their dung and urine. While neem leaves and pulp, tobacco, as well as green chilli extracts are used to manage insects and pests, bijamrita is utilised to treat seeds. Benefits : Fungal and other seed- and soil-borne infections may impact the seeds sowed in the field. The seeds are shielded against illnesses by the “Bijamrita” seed treatment.

Jiwamrita/Jeevamrutha: A natural resource utilised to restore the fertility and nutritional value of soil is cow dung. A gramme of cow dung may contain 300–500 billion helpful microorganisms. These bacteria help decompose the soil’s biomass and transform it into readily usable nutrients for crops. Cow dung and cow urine are used to make Jiwamrita. It is a component of the plants’ diet. It is a fermented microbial culture made from uncontaminated soil, jaggery, cow dung, urine, and pulse flour. When applied to soil, this fermented microbial culture enriches the soil with nutrients and acts as a catalyst to encourage the activity of earthworms and microorganisms. For each hectare of land, 500 litres of jeevamrutha should be applied twice a month; following three years, the system might become self-sustaining. A single native cow is adequate 30 acres of land. Benefits : By promoting soil microbial activity, this culture improves the availability of nutrients to plants, shields crops from soil diseases, and raises the carbon content of the soil.

Acchadana/Mulching: The process of mulching involves adding cover crops, organic debris, or agricultural residue to the topsoil. Benefits : Decomposing the materials used for mulching results in humus, which not only improves soil nutritional status but also conserves topsoil, boosts soil water retention, reduces evaporation loss, and promotes soil fauna. It also inhibits weed growth.

Waaphasa/Moisture (Soil Aeration): For plants to grow and thrive, the soil must have adequate aeration. Benefits : Applying Jiwamrita and mulching promotes soil aeration, humus content, availability of water, water retention capacity, and soil structure, all of which are essential for crop growth, particularly during dry spells.

Cropping Model of Zero Budget Natural Farming

The approach is based on producing polycultures, or short- and long-term (main crop) crops together, in order to recover the cost of raising the main crops from the income from the short-term crops, resulting in “zero” spending for the main crop. Accordingly, the term “Zero Budget Natural Farming” is used for this farming model.

States following ZBNF

• Karnataka: In every one of the state’s ten agroclimatic zones, Karnataka has begun implementing the ZBNF on a pilot basis in an area of 2000 hectares through the relevant State Agriculture/Horticulture Universities as demonstrations/scientific experiments conducted in farmers’ fields and in the research facilities of the respective universities.
• Himachal Pradesh: Since May 2018, Himachal Pradesh has been implementing the Prakritik Kheti Khusha Kisan programme, which is financed by the state. The results of studies carried out by the state demonstrated that ZBNF practice improved soil quality within a single cropping season and that invasive leaf miner incidence was much lower in the ZBNF system when compared to organic farming as well as conventional farming.
• Kerala: In order to pique farmers’ interest in ZBNF, awareness campaigns, workshops, and training sessions are being held in Kerala.
• Andhra Pradesh: ZBNF was introduced by Andhra Pradesh in September 2015 as part of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. In partnership with the University of Reading, the UK World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi, FAO, and resource NGOs/Civil Society Organizations such as the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA), Hyderabad.

Who introduced Zero Budget Natural Farming?

Subash Palekar (Indian Agriculturist and Padma Shri Recipient) is the father of Zero Budget Natural Farming. He developed it in the mid-1990s as an alternative to the Green Revolution  methods.

The points put forward by Subash Palekar in support of Zero Budget Natural Farming are:

• Lakhs of farmers are using the technique of Zero Budget Natural Farming in different agro-climatic zones and soil types.
• To grow a plant, whatever is needed is present in nature. No chemicals are required to grow a plant. An example – Earthworm excreta has seven times more nitrogen than the soil.
• A large number of small farmers are using this technique as they see Zero Budget Natural Farming as a tool that can free them from debts and defaults.
• It makes farming both profitable and sustainable.

Important terms related to ZBNF –  Jeevamrutha, Bijamrita, Acchadana and Whapasa

Facts about Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)

A few important details about Zero Budget Natural Farming are given in the table below:

Zero Budget Natural Farming and Farmers’ Income

• The major characteristic of Zero Budget Natural Farming is that the cost of production is zero and farmers do not have to buy any inputs to initiate this method of farming.
• Against the conventional methods, the Zero Budget Natural Farming used only 10 percent of the water that is used in the former method.
• As it promotes the use of the Indian local breed of the cow for 30 acres of land, it makes it possible for farmers to earn profits earlier than expected.
• Palekar suggested that with Zero Budget Farming One can make an income of ₹6 lakh an acre in irrigated areas and ₹1.5 lakh in non-irrigated areas.
• As the Zero Budget Natural Farming covers all kings of agro-climatic areas, it is mentioned to be suitable for all kinds of crops
• Farmers can get more yields in the first year only giving them a benefit
• The Zero Budget Farming is also seen to ease out the debt pressure on the farmers as they don’t have to take loans to buy any inputs for their farming
• Farmers are expected to earn more money per acre and the chances of migration from villages to cities can also lessen.

Zero Budget Natural Farming – Criticism

• The concept of Zero Budget Natural Farming is not well-accepted by the scientific community. National Academy of Agricultural Sciences scientists mentioned that India cannot rely on Zero Budget Natural Farming as there is no scientific validation of the techniques used in Zero Budget Farming.
• As against the name suggests, the farming method does bear a minimum input cost
• The maintenance of the local cow breed is difficult as against those that are used currently
• Organic certification of the crops planted by the Zero Budget Natural Farming will face another hurdle and it might lead to a difficulty in selling the products to the organic brands.

Zero Budget Farming – Conclusion

It is a farming method that Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned in the United Nations Conference on Desertification (COP-14) while stating that India is focusing on this method. The farming method offers resilient food systems. Through two of their initiatives:

• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)
• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)

The Government of India has been promoting organic farming in the country.

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) – UPSC Notes:- Download PDF Here

Candidates reading the topic, ‘Zero Budget Natural Farming’ are suggested to also read similar topics linked in the table below:

Interesting Facts on Intercropping

What is intercropping give example?

Intercropping is growing two or more crops next to each other at the same time. It is very important not to have crops competing with each other for space, nutrients, water, or sunlight. An example of an intercropping strategy is planting one crop that has deep roots with another that has shallow roots.

What is the difference between mixed cropping and intercropping?

Under Intercropping: There is a considerable difference in the life cycle and the duration of maturity in different crops. Under mixed cropping: All crops have a similar life cycle and duration of maturity

What are the advantages of intercropping?

• Diversity and stability of fields. 
• Reduction in chemical/fertilizer application. 
• A complementary sharing of plant resources, such as Nitrogen from N fixing plants.

Where is intercropping used?

Intercropping is widely practiced by cassava growers in Africa, but is less frequent in the more commercially oriented production systems of Latin America and Asia. Several experimental studies have investigated the potential beneficial effect of intercropping on cassava virus control in Africa.

What are the 3 types of cropping patterns?

• Mixed Cropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land. Minimizes the risk of crop failure
• Inter-cropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously in the same field in a definite pattern
• Crop Rotation

Frequently Asked Questions related to Zero Budget Natural Farming

Who introduced zero budget natural farming in india, is zero budget farming possible, what is the difference between zero budget farming and organic farming, what is beejamrutha, who is the father of organic farming.

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Essay on Natural Farming | Natural Farming

Essay on Natural Farming : Products yielded from natural farming is best for body as it contains all natural nutrients in it as is it produced without using chemical fertilizers. Government is also promoting natural farming for its health benefits as well as it's strength in creation of job opportunities. Thus essay on natural farming very important essay topic for students.

Essay on Natural Farming

Natural farming produces natural products which are chemical free and good for health. Presently, in agriculture sector, advanced technology and chemical fertilizers are used to get high productivity. These chemical fertilizers increases productivity but quality of products decreases in comparison to natural farming. Produces yielded from natural farming are very high quality and are full of all natural nutrients. Thus, it is very good for health as well as environment as it is chemical free or organic.

What is Natural Farming

Natural Farming is a method of farming without using chemical fertilizers. This is also known as traditional farming or organic farming method. It is a diversified farming system based on agro-ecology that integrates crops, trees and livestock with functional biodiversity. Natural Farming is largely based on on-farm biomass recycling. This focuses on biomass mulching, use of on-farm cow dung-urine formulations and periodic soil aeration.

Benefits of Natural Farming

Natural Farming is considered as cost-effective farming practices. This provides employment opportunities in the rural areas and helps in rural development. It is a diversified farming system based on agro-ecology that integrates crops, trees and livestock which allow the optimum use of functional biodiversity.

Natural Farming is considered a form of regenerative agriculture which is a prominent strategy to save the planet. This method of farming has many other benefits, such as restoration of soil fertility and environmental health, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and global warming and curbing pollution . Natural Farming also has potential to manage land practices and sequester carbon from the atmosphere in soils and plants, where it is actually useful.

Obstacles in Natural Farming

Natural Farming is associated with decline in yields which hamper the farmer’s income. An often-cited barrier by farmers in transitioning to Natural Farming is the lack of readily available natural inputs and not every farmer has the time, patience, or labour to develop their own inputs for natural farming.

Also Read:  Essay on Electric Vehicle: The future of Transport

Measures to Scale up Natural Farming

Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati Programme (BPKP) under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) has been launched by Government of India to promote Natural Farming. The scheme aims to promote traditional indigenous practices which reduce externally purchased inputs.

Another scheme named Sub-mission on AgroForestry (SMAF) aims to encourage farmers to plant multi-purpose trees together with the agriculture crops. This scheme also aims to promote enhanced feedstock to inter alia wood-based and herbal industry which create additional source of income to the farmers. National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) was also launched which aims to develop, demonstrate and disseminate the techniques to make agriculture resilient to adverse impacts of climate change.

Also Read:  Essay on Governance 4.0

Natural Farming: Way Forward

Method of Natural Farming is more popular and can easily be promoted in ra infed regions as these regions use less fertilizers in compared to the areas where irrigation is prevalent. To promote the Natural Farming, government’s crop insurance scheme, PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) can be helpful as it will help in risk prevention and farmers will feel assured.

To address the challenge of unavailability of readily available inputs required for natural farming, the promotion of natural farming needs be scaled up at village-level through preparation and sales shops at village level.

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America’s dime-store Nietzscheans

What the unmasking of an anonymous publisher and Twitter personality reveals about the far right in the US.

By Sohrab Ahmari

It turns out that yet another leading member of the racial, “vitalist” right is an erstwhile Bernie-ish bro who at some point snapped, or became disaffected with the millennial left, and shifted rightward – not stopping with “normie” conservatism , but going all the way to the weird right. I’m referring to L0m3z, the founder of the edgy imprint Passage Publishing, home to, among others, the racial-hereditarian guru Steve Sailer. L0m3z’s identity as an ex-lefty California academic, who once sought to organise their fellow teachers, was recently unmasked by the Guardian .

Though that alleged real identity is now a matter of public record, I’m choosing not to use  L0m3z ’s name, because in their online subculture, “doxing” is considered a sort of digital martyrdom, and I’d prefer not to heighten their mystique. And because what’s unique or singular about L0m3z is far less interesting than the sociological origins they share with many other members of this cohort: many – indeed, most – belong to the educated, urban professional classes who are profoundly alienated from the American mainstream.

This little-understood sociological fact upends the typical understanding that many have of this sort of ideology. According to a conventional account, reinforced by misguided scholarship such as the recent bestseller  White Rural Rage , in the US it is the Trumpian-Jacksonian back country that is seething with racial resentment. Rural Americans, to be sure, can sometimes come across as gruff when sounding off on matters racial and cultural. But it was members of the professional and even upper classes who promoted eugenic or dime-store Nietzschean ideologies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Likewise, it is a subset of disaffected or stressed urban professionals today who are developing a counter-culture centred around the worship of strength and the restoration of “natural hierarchies” among large human groups, as supposedly revealed by IQ bell curves.

According to the mythos  promoted by people like L0m3z , the aristocratic or adventurous spirit, once free to roam and to designate value on his own, has tragically been imprisoned in the communal “longhouse”, lorded over by the primordial feminine, with its obsession with equality. When exactly this tragedy took place depends on who you ask: for some members of the online right, it was some 12,000 years ago with the advent of the agricultural civilisation and the shift from a “barbarian” mode of life into sedentary farming. For others, the tragedy occurred much more recently, with the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Either way, no more could the natural aristocrat live free, for he was now chained to an egalitarian ethic that elevated the claims of the weak and the sickly. Soon, the grubby masses made even more audacious demands, reaching for what they could never truly possess: equality with the higher orders; they called this “democracy”. So things stand today. But the electronic rightists believe that there are ways out of the longhouse. Or better yet, perhaps the repressed aristocrats can smash it down altogether, restoring the natural order of things.

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If you’re a conservative-minded, educated Zoomer today, chances are you thrill to some version of this mythos. Your world-view revolves not around the categories of conventional politics, but deep, hidden truths about natural hierarchies that map on to racial differences, conditioning some races to higher contemplation and others to servility.

The first to discover these truths were the classical philosophers, though in some cases you have to know just how to decode the ancient texts to discern this. More recently, the latest findings in human genetics and IQ science have supposedly removed any doubts: human beings are born  unequal , with the starkest lines of division drawn across large racial groups. To deny this “science” is to wage war against reality itself, yet that is exactly what modern democracy does.

And that’s precisely the problem in the minds of an increasingly radical and influential cohort of young right-wing intellectuals and their fandoms. If you’re part of this cohort, you feel personally aggrieved by democracy’s empowerment of the dysgenic. It’s why our institutions are so broken: many of the people directing state and society were never meant to direct anything. It’s why the market economy isn’t recognising your talents or serving your preferences: its otherwise smooth functioning has been disrupted by the grubby, democratic demands of the under-men. Nor has culture been spared: the illusion of cultural equality is to blame for rap, R&B and other forms of “negroid warbling” that suffuse public space, as the writer Zero HP Lovecraft, another leading light of the movement, whined not too long ago.

Repelled by the mainstream, you seek meaning and purpose elsewhere. Your canonical books aren’t William F Buckley’s  God and Man at Yale  or Milton Friedman’s  Capitalism and Freedom  (even if you might generally agree with libertarian economics). Instead, you seek out self-published tracts by pseudonymous academics and ideologues whose lodestar isn’t democratic capitalism or traditional Christianity, but the triumph of the eugenic over the degenerate, the IQ-endowed over the low IQ, Anglos over “negroids” and “beige people”.

For those accustomed to conservatism as it has taken shape in the US since 1945, all this can seem unsettlingly novel. Yet the mildly egalitarian conservatism that took hold in the postwar era was the product of a set of contingent circumstances. It was necessitated by the horrors of the Holocaust and then the need to best Soviet communism in a global ideological struggle. Mildly egalitarian conservatism was also bolstered by the “Judeo-Christian” consensus of the postwar era. Many of the architects of that consensus – figures such as Michael Novak and Richard John Neuhaus – had taken part in the civil-rights movement. And their commitment to racial equality remained ironclad, even as they became more theologically, economically and sexually conservative. 

But there are other traditions. From the old federalist conviction that the richly propertied are best-suited for rule to the “master-race democracy” of the Jacksonian era; from the former US vice-president John C Calhoun’s attempts to frame slavery as a positive good, to the “mudsill theory” advanced by later Southern ideologues such as James Henry Hammond and George Fitzhugh; and from the social Darwinism of the late 19th century to Henry Ford’s obsession with “good blood lines” – some Americans have relied upon “natural hierarchy” to uphold entrenched interests. And even during the heyday of postwar conservatism, eugenic ideologues and think tanks could exert a great deal of influence, forming a sort of shadow conservatism not withstanding their public reputation as cranks and racists. 

Today, the postwar consensus has all but withered away. Intense polarisation has squeezed the sense of shared moral memory taken for granted by earlier generations. Religious authorities of all stripes are stumbling. And the intelligent young face a world of diminished expectations, in which identitarian warfare is frequently a path to the credentialled jobs that are the only alternative to financial misery. 

Again, this sort of Nietzschean ideology is emphatically not a movement of poor whites or the rural working class. It is, and has always been, a middle-to-upper-class tendency, with many of its advocates holding poor whites in almost as much contempt as they do black Americans and other racial minorities. Old-school Wasp social Darwinism, for example, helped legitimate its adherents’ position atop the social hierarchy of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

What’s notable about our moment is that this noxious stream, rather than flowing on the high ground of established society, is deluging the culture’s subterranean channels. It is a counter-cultural posture – hence its attraction for former leftists. Also notable is the ironic prevalence of what could be described as “off-white ethnics” (Jews, North Africans, Arabs, Armenians and the like). Not exactly a background of Teutonic-Aryan supremacy, but perhaps this is a way to “prove” their claim to belonging in America. The stress of academic and professional competition with newer arrivals – from places like China and India – may also explain their redoubling of the Aryan fortress.

The combination of social pressures suggest that conditions are ripe for right-wing eugenics to re-emerge from the shadows, offering both consolation for a subset of the credentialled precariat — and the vision of a world transformed.

[See also: Are girls “growing up too fast” online? ]

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Bahrain Celebrates Its History as a Pearling Center

A new walking trail in Muharraq explains a legacy of the gem dating to the Bronze Age.

The Visitor and Experience Centre of the Pearling Path, designed by the Swiss architect Valerio Olgiati, was built in 2019 over a former warehouse, and visitors can still see the nearly century-old ruins of shops and work areas. Credit...

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By David Belcher

Photographs by Iwan Baan

Reporting from Muharraq, Bahrain

• May 16, 2024

Along the teeming narrow streets of this centuries-old trading port, and among the modern-day merchants of the old souk who have immigrated from across the Middle East, South Asia and beyond, an urban project is paying homage to 5,000 years of pearling history in Bahrain.

The newest part of the project is the Pearling Path , which opened in February. The urban trail can be followed as a free, self-guided tour that rolls its way through 3.5-kilometers, or just over two miles, of commercial and residential neighborhoods in Muharraq, a centuries-old city across the water from the modern capital, Manama.

The trail is part of the kingdom’s efforts to celebrate the rich history of this nation of small islands, which since the Bronze Age has harvested what many consider to be the world’s finest natural pearls. Oil has dominated here since it was discovered in the early 1930s but, as those reserves are being depleted, the country is trying to widen its focus to include the history of pearling.

Since the era of India’s bejeweled maharajahs in the 1800s to Jacques Cartier’s search for the world’s perfect pearl a century ago, Bahrain has been a pearl-lovers paradise. The ancient Dilmun civilization flourished here as early as 3000 B.C., conducting trade in pearls and date syrup.

The archipelago has natural underground freshwater springs that feed the land — which has nurtured farming for centuries in the unforgiving Gulf heat — and mix with the Persian Gulf saltwater, creating conditions considered ideal for nurturing the perfect pearl. Natural pearls, which oysters form inside them as a defense against irritants that invade its shell, often have irregularities in shape and color.

Walkers can follow the path by checking maps posted on billboards at the 17 stopping points in small public squares with seating shaded by flame trees. Lamps with pearl-shaped lightbulbs serve as signposts. Flecks of oyster shell known as mother-of-pearl embedded in the benches and the lampposts catch the sunlight.

On a recent spring day, with the Gulf temperatures still manageable, children played ball and old men gathered on benches in one of several small parks that dot the Pearling Path. Two representatives of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities accompanied this reporter along the route, now part of the Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy UNESCO World Heritage Site . The cost of the project, financed by the government and a loan from the Islamic Development Bank, as well as private and corporate donations, was not publicly disclosed.

“The Pearling Path is a project that really celebrates not just the pearling history of Bahrain but the architecture heritage of the country,” said Sheikh Khalifa Ahmed Al-Khalifa, president of the culture authority. “It’s a testament to the pearling industry, and it was important for us to demonstrate that pearling has never ceased to exist in Bahrain.”

The tour meanders through the highs and lows of Muharraq’s history. The pearl industry collapsed almost overnight in the early 1930s, largely because of three factors: the creation by the Japanese of perfectly round and less expensive cultured pearls made in labs with human intervention; the global financial crisis of 1929; and the discovery of oil in Bahrain in 1932. But after decades of wealth generated by the oil boom, the government is moving to celebrate its ancient roots.

“In this region, there has been a renewed interest in reconnecting with a natural identity with cultural heritage, so pearls have come back to the forefront,” said Noura Al-Sayeh, the adviser for heritage projects for the cultural authority. “Until 10 or 15 years ago, most pearl merchants were still dealing with the pearls they had amassed during the 1930s. The demand was no longer there. But it is now.”

That sense of a rich past is evident on the trail. We stepped first into the mostly limestone former home of a wealthy merchant family, the Siyadis, and its majlis, or central meeting room. Much of the house dates to the 1850s, and elaborate flourishes inside and outside have been restored, such as stained glass and etchings on the edifice, which displayed the family’s wealth. The ground-level rooms of the home now exhibit some of Bahrain’s oldest jewelry, including pearls from 2000 B.C. that were uncovered from archaeological digs over the past few decades (there is a small admission price for exhibitions). Some of the tiny pearls almost look shriveled and, as Ms. Al-Sayeh described, “Flintstoney.”

One room contains a glass case of Cartier Art Deco jewelry from the 1920s (Jacques Cartier came to Bahrain in 1912, and a picture of him with four local merchants hangs nearby). Another glass case contains a scarf made of hundreds of tiny pearls, and a necklace of yellowish pearls that Ms. Al-Sayeh said was among the finest examples anywhere of matching pearls.

“We have an agreement with Cartier to have a rotating exhibition each year,” Ms. Al-Sayeh added. “And we have several pieces on loan from Mattar Jewelers , a seventh-generation family of pearl merchants in Bahrain, as well as Al Mahmood Pearls , another local merchant.”

As the Muslim call to prayer filled the air in the late afternoon, the path took us past dozens of small shops in the souk, from food stalls to jewelers to clothing stores, many catering to Bahrain’s large immigrant population.

These are juxtaposed by four almost-Brutalist gray parking structures, designed as part of the Pearling Path project, by the Swiss architect Christian Kerez, sprinkled throughout the old city like pieces of urban artwork.

“The biggest challenge in any sort of urban setting is parking garages,” Sheikh Khalifa said. “We want to balance their contemporary design with the surrounding historic design. We believe that any city is a living reflection of architecture, both old and new.”

Another structure, the dramatic visitors center, was designed by the Swiss architect Valerio Olgiati , with a soaring ceiling and pentagonal skylights notched randomly to allow in flecks of sunlight. It was built in 2019 over a former warehouse where the pearling boats would return with their bounty and visitors can still see the nearly century-old ruins of shops and work areas.

“This ceiling creates this very large room canopy which bridges the more contemporary side of Muharraq to the heart of the souk, creating this very large, shaded gathering space,” Ms. Al-Sayeh said. “For us, it was important to preserve these opened and unplanned public spaces in the city. We have music festivals here, and events during Ramadan and so on.”

Other stops on the path include a small restored mosque, the palm-lined courtyard of what had been a wealthy boat merchant’s home and the more modest home of a folk-medicine doctor who used medicinal herbs to treat eye, skin and lung infections among divers, as well as the homes of a pearl diver and the captain of a pearling boat. Another option for the truly pearl obsessed is a pearl-diving excursion, after which participants can keep any pearls they find, Sheikh Khalifa said.

But the Pearling Path offers something more than just the precious gem that has been sought for millenniums.

“Our first motivation is to preserve and conserve both our oyster beds, as well as all of these historic buildings,” Sheikh Khalifa said. “You don’t have to be a pearl diver to experience pearling. You can do it through the many stories that are being told every day on this path through our rich pearling history.”

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