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Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is a form of agricultural system redesign being practiced at scale in India, particularly in the state of Andhra Pradesh. ZBNF is an emerging set of agricultural practices designed dramatically to reduce farmers direct costs (hence ‘zero budget’) while boosting yields and farm health through the use of non-synthet...
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... fields hosted an average of 232 earthworms per square metre, compared with just 32 on non-ZBNF fields (RySS, 2018c unpublished data). ZBNF farmers also report a number of earthworms on ZBNF plots (Figure 7), as well as beneficial insects (pollinators and pest antagonists), including honeybees, lacewing bugs (an antagonist to aphids, leafhoppers, whiteflies and mealybugs) and ladybugs in various crop types and agro-climatic zones. ...
Context 2
... fields hosted an average of 232 earthworms per square metre, compared with just 32 on non-ZBNF fields (RySS, 2018c unpublished data). ZBNF farmers also report a number of earthworms on ZBNF plots (Figure 7), as well as beneficial insects (pollinators and pest antagonists), including honeybees, lacewing bugs (an antagonist to aphids, leafhoppers, whiteflies and mealybugs) and ladybugs in various crop types and agro-climatic zones. ...
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... It is well known that the scaling of agroecological approaches has been shown to rely on horizontal peer learning. In India, the Andhra Pradesh Natural Farming programme plans to roll out agroecology to 6 million farmers in the state through a combination of farmer-based extension, government and NGO support and women groups (Bharucha et al., 2020). Participatory extension programmes are widely used to promote agricultural innovations and are found to be effective if properly implemented (Knook et al., 2020). ...
Introduction
Agroforestry plays a vital role in maintaining and developing the resilience and productivity of farms and landscapes. Scientific evidence from the Sahel region suggests that integration of trees and shrubs has the potential to improve temperature and moisture levels whilst providing bio-based fertilizer that contributes to increased yields of annual crops. However, little is known about the factors that influence the diffusion of agroforestry. This study examines joint decisions on the use of agroforestry alongside other complementary agricultural practices and disentangles agroforestry awareness from adoption and disadoption decisions.
Methods
Our analysis is based on a comprehensive farm-level dataset covering almost 3,000 farm households in Mali and Senegal. A large number of adoption determinants are utilized, with a special focus on information access, information flows and social groups.
Results
The findings suggest that extension access and training participation boost awareness of agroforestry-based soil fertility management, while information provided by public extension, NGOs and community members is strongly associated with higher adoption intensity. In the analysis of disadoption, farmer-to-farmers exchange in the community was found to be a key factor in the decision to maintain agroforestry use. Membership in cooperatives and youth groups appear to have a favorable effect on awareness and adoption in Mali, but less so in the Senegalese case. Similarly, only results from Mali show that adoption of agroforestry is accompanied by the adoption of other sustainable intensification practices and lower use of synthetic pesticides.
Discussion
We conclude that in order to support the transition to more widespread agroforestry-based soil fertility management, it is essential to strengthen public and NGO-based advisory systems that fully engage with local knowledge networks.
... Ingredients can include desi cow dung and urine, jaggery (unrefined cane sugar), gram (legume) flour and topsoil from a native 'virgin' soil (uncontaminated soil) 3. Achhadana: mulching using cover crops or dry crop residues applied to the soil surface. Examples include paddy straw and groundnut husks (Ghosh 2019;Keerthi et al. 2018) Adoption of ZBNF has been reported to increase yields in 79% of farmers surveyed (n=97) in Karnataka (Khadse et al. 2018), and 88% of farmers surveyed (n = 1614) in Andhra Pradesh (Bharucha et al. 2020) compared to 'non-ZBNF' management techniques. ZBNF inputs have also been observed to increase growth and yield of chilli (Gangadhar et al. 2020), peppers (Boraiah et al. 2017), rice, groundnut (Bharucha et al. 2020), maize (Vinay et al. 2020) banana, gram legumes (Galab et al. 2019) and cotton (Korav et al. 2020) compared to non-ZBNF agricultural practices. ...
... Examples include paddy straw and groundnut husks (Ghosh 2019;Keerthi et al. 2018) Adoption of ZBNF has been reported to increase yields in 79% of farmers surveyed (n=97) in Karnataka (Khadse et al. 2018), and 88% of farmers surveyed (n = 1614) in Andhra Pradesh (Bharucha et al. 2020) compared to 'non-ZBNF' management techniques. ZBNF inputs have also been observed to increase growth and yield of chilli (Gangadhar et al. 2020), peppers (Boraiah et al. 2017), rice, groundnut (Bharucha et al. 2020), maize (Vinay et al. 2020) banana, gram legumes (Galab et al. 2019) and cotton (Korav et al. 2020) compared to non-ZBNF agricultural practices. However, these studies do not always include statistical analysis to support their conclusions and do not always describe what they define as 'non-ZBNF'. ...
... The third claim put forward by ZBNF promoters is that ZBNF practices enhance the activity of soil biology, and larger earthworm populations are an indicator of this. Higher earthworm abundance has previously been observed in ZBNF fields compared to non-ZBNF fields (Bharucha et al. 2020). In our research, earthworm abundance was indeed significantly and considerably higher in the ZBNF treatment than the conventional or organic treatment in all three seasons (Fig. 3f), along with earthworm biomass (Supplementary information, Figure S3) likely a result of mulching. ...
Unlabelled:
Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is a grassroot agrarian movement and a state backed extension in Andhra Pradesh, and has been claimed to potentially meet the twin goals of global food security and environmental conservation. However, there is a lack of statistically evaluated data to support assertions of yield benefits of ZBNF compared to organic or conventional alternatives, or to mechanistically account for them. In order to fill this gap, controlled field experiments were established in twenty-eight farms across six districts, spanning over 800 km, over three cropping seasons. In these experiments, we compared ZBNF (no synthetic pesticides or fertilisers, home-made inputs comprising desi cow dung and urine with mulch) to conventional (synthetic fertilisers and pesticides) and organic (no synthetic pesticides or fertilisers, no mulch, purchased organic inputs, e.g. farmyard manure and vermicompost) treatments, all with no tillage. Comparisons were made in terms of yield, soil pH, temperature, moisture content, nutrient content and earthworm abundance. Our data shows that yield was significantly higher in the ZBNF treatment (z score = 0.58 ± 0.08), than the organic (z= -0.34 ± 0.06) or conventional (-0.24 ± 0.07) treatment when all farm experiments were analysed together. However, the efficacy of the ZBNF treatment was context specific and varied according to district and the crop in question. The ZBNF yield benefit is likely attributed to mulching, generating a cooler soil, with a higher moisture content and a larger earthworm population. There were no significant differences between ZBNF and the conventional treatment in the majority of nutrients. This is a particularly important observation, as intensive use of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers comes with a number of associated risks to farmers' finances, human health, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. However, long-term field and landscape scale trials are needed to corroborate these initial observations.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13593-023-00884-x.
... However, sometimes it requires more labor engagement along with little loss in a few cases (Kumar et al., 2020). ZBNF is a redesigned agricultural system practiced particularly to reduce direct costs probably imposed on the farmers (hence 'zero budget') while boosting output along with soil health maintenance through the use of non-synthetic input resources available locally ('natural farming') (Bharucha et al., 2020). A substantial amount of nitrogen can be provided to the crops using the Jeevamritha system (liquid and solid together), the mulching of dried biomass, nitrogen fixation by heterotrophic microbes through Azolla, as well as the rotation of leguminous crops in the ZBNF system, according to the studies (Kumar et al., 2020;Smith et al., 2020). ...
Synthetic fertilizers have been revolutionary in the way that the increased production of food crops has increased as a result of the application of synthetic fertilizers. Despite the fact that global N, P, and K consumption have increased from 64.9, 25.9, and 18.2 kg/ha in the year 2000 to 85.5, 33.2, and 20.4 kg/ha, respectively, they are still relatively low. Additionally, excessive use of inorganic fertilizers has also resulted in a deterioration of environmental systems, especially that of water resources. The presence of this toxic substance inside the human body is therefore due to the fact that it enters the body through the food chain and causes serious illnesses, such as cancer. For instance, in most countries, the maximum nitrate concentration for drinking water is restricted to between 45 and 50 mg/L. Besides promoting the use of chemicals and the application of fertilizers in farming, there should be a push to encourage the sustainable use of biofertilizers to protect the environment and human health. Composts that have been developed from various waste materials, such as poultry farms, dairy farms, and other sources, have proven to be very rich in N, P, and K. For example, compost generated from dairy farm wastes can provide a value of 45,100, 7300, and 9100 mg/kg of N, P, and K, respectively. In order to make the use of these biofertilizers in agriculture possible, it will be necessary to spread awareness among the farmers so that they can adopt the concepts of sustainable management in agriculture.
... The scaling up of NF may not only depend on the farming practices, but social factors such as social movements, public policies, markets, pedagogical processes, leadership, and discourse also play a key role [24][25][26]. Farmer-focused and farmer-led knowledge exchange is a key driver of the sustained spread of NF practice [27]. ...
The "Green Revolution" (GR) technology-induced agricultural intensification has transformed India from food scarcity to a food surplus country. However, this has also resulted into several adverse repercussions. Increased application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides with stag-nating/declining crop productivity has dovetailed with uncertain market conditions and climate change effects which has resulted in un-remunerative agriculture. Consequently, farmers have fallen into the debt trap due to the rising cost of crop production apart from health hazards due to serious exposure to harmful chemical pesticides. Natural Farming (NF), an agro-ecological approach to farming is believed to be an effective way to counter some of these challenges. The present paper presents field-level farmers' experiences of NF adoption in three states of India-Andhra Pra-desh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. The study was conducted during February-March 2019 by surveying 295 NF adopted and 170 non-NF adopted farmers. It was found that NF practice has been followed by some farmers for more than 10 years but others have adopted during the recent past. There is variation in the practice followed by the NF farmers. There are farmers who are using Farm Yard Manure (FYM). A solid form of jeevamritha (liquid concoction of microbial inoculants) called as ghanajeevamritha was also found to be used by farmers in Andhra Pradesh. It was observed that non-NF yields are superior to NF yield without FYM. In most crops, however, NF with FYM had a greater yield than NF without FYM and non-NF farms. There has been a decrease in the variable cost and a marginal increase in the market price of NF produce. The study suggests that natural farming may be seen as one of the alternative practices which has potential to rejuvenate the agro-ecosystem, besides cost saving for the individual farmers.
... Outcome of the UEFS cultivation and farmers' messages: Recent studies reported the shifting of farmers from conventional farming to organic and natural farming (NF), especially in the SI states namely Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana (Nayana and Veni 2020). Farmer's survey in these states reported better plant health, vigour and climate resilience in fruit crops integrated organic and NF system even under dry spells, flooding and cyclone situations (Bharucha et al 2020). Apart from increased incomes, farmers also experienced encouraging outcomes across a range of farm health indicators, agro biodiversity and sustaino-resilence of the agroecosystem (Bharucha et al 2020). ...
... Farmer's survey in these states reported better plant health, vigour and climate resilience in fruit crops integrated organic and NF system even under dry spells, flooding and cyclone situations (Bharucha et al 2020). Apart from increased incomes, farmers also experienced encouraging outcomes across a range of farm health indicators, agro biodiversity and sustaino-resilence of the agroecosystem (Bharucha et al 2020). Another study reported successful integration of UEFS like aonla ( ), bael Emblica officinalis ( ), ber ( spp.) and jamun ( Aegle marmelos Zizyphus Syzigium spp.) based cropping models to minimize the risk and enhance the yield and productivity in Arid and Semi-arid regions of India (Singh et al 2020). ...
Southern India (SI) is bestowed with several threatened and near threatened (TNT) underutilized edible fruit species (UEFS) that contributes to food and nutritional security, particularly to the indigenous people. Unfortunately, information related to these natural products is fragmentary and least researched. The PRISMA Protocol was used to conduct a systematic review of the TNT-UEFS of the SI. The study confirmed that, of the total of 69 species of TNT-UEFS recorded, most of the species were reported to have medicinal, economical, and many other values, which need instant sustainable initiatives for conservation, consumption and cultivation. Among these species, 10 (14.5 %) were near threatened (NT), and 59 (85.5 %) were threatened. According to the IUCN Red List, the threatened species were further divided into three categories: Vulnerable (31 species), Endangered (20 species), and Critically Endangered (8 species). The provision of various ecosystem services is aided by integrating native and naturalized TNT-UEFS in various ecosystem restoration efforts through afforestation and reforestation. Consecutively, it helps India meet its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and neutralize land degradation by 2030. Hence, the study will provide baseline information for future research and be useful for policymakers to develop region-specific, scientific, and sustainable policies for SI.
... We will likely see increased institutionalisation where the ideas of the storyline are reflected in institutional practices (Hajer 1993). Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) in India similarly started as a grassroots movement that motivated its members through discourse and other means (Bharucha et al. 2020;Khadse et al. 2017). It became institutionalised when the state of Andhra Pradesh developed public policies to scale ZBNF. ...
Modern agriculture is underpinned by a colonial, industrial and productivist discourse. Agricultural practices inspired by this discourse have fed billions but degraded socio-ecological systems. Regenerative agriculture (RA) is a prominent alternative seeking to transform food production and repair ecosystems. This paper proposes that RA discourse is supported by a shared storyline binding diverse actors and discourses together—a discourse coalition. Consequently, multiple discourses contribute to the over-arching discourse of RA. A discourse analysis was conducted on texts from ninety-six organisations and complimented by twenty-two interviews in Australia and the USA. This analysis identified nine discourses contributing to RA discourse: Restoration for Profit; Big Picture Holism; Regenerative Organic; Regrarian Permaculture; Regenerative Cultures; Deep Holism; First Nations; Agroecology and Food Sovereignty; and Subtle Energies. This paper describes and examines these component discourses and discusses tensions that may make RA vulnerable to co-optation and greenwashing, diluting its transformative potential.
... Green Revolution technology has been proved as a double-edged sword for the Indian agriculture system as well as for the entire globe. Although it intensified Indian agriculture from a food-scarce to a food-surplus country, it has also thrown several challenges in the form of declining factor productivity, depleting natural resources, low water, and nutrients, and adverse impacts on climate change as well as on human health [1][2][3]. Overuse of chemical fertilizers not only depletes soil nutrients but also reduces the yield and poisons the whole ecosystem [4]. In the past, several management practices, such as biofertilizers/biopesticide application, use of vermicompost, FYM, etc., have been intended to mitigate the negative impact of chemical fertilizers and pesticides [5]. ...
... In ZBNF, the cost of farming activities from external sources (fertilizers/pesticides) is zero as it does not require any credit on purchasing inputs, and crops are cultivated without chemicals exploiting natural resources, such as cow dung/urine, etc. [1,2,6,7]. ZBNF formulations, such as Jeevamrit, Beejamarit, and Panchgavya induce a multifold increase in microbial population and earthworm activity which enhances nutrient availability in soil, strengthens the resistance mechanism, and increases crop productivity [5,8,9]. Enhanced microbial population diversity index improves the stability and resistance of the soil ecosystem [10][11][12]. ...
Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), utilizing natural resources, multiple cropping systems, and cow-dung- and urine-based products to improve soil biology, has been practiced by thousands of farmers in India. However, without any scientific proof, this traditional and ancient technique is mocked as a bugged theory in the scientific community. In the current study, we have investigated the effect of Jeevamrit—cow-dung- and urine-based formulation—on soil chemical and microbial properties of the ZBNF field coupled with metagenomic analysis and the economics of ZBNF. The percentage increase in soil properties, such as organic carbon, available phosphorus, and available potassium, was recorded up to 46%, 439%, and 142%, respectively, while micronutrients, such as Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mn, also increased up to 98%, 23%, 62%, and 55%, respectively, from 2017 to 2019. Whole genome metagenomic analysis revealed that Proteobacteria were dominantly present, and bacterial phyla including Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, and Panibacillus. On the other hand, Ascomycota was the dominating fungal phyla present in the soil sample. Further, functional analysis showed a high representation of genes/enzymes involved in amino acids and carbohydrate metabolism contributing to soil fertility, plant growth, defense, and development. Additionally, the cost–benefit ratio of ZBNF was double the farmer’s practice when tested with the rice and wheat cropping system. The results from this study provide a new proof of concept and understanding of the potential of the ZBNF component, i.e., Jeevamrit, in improving soil properties.
... Green Revolution technology has been proved as a double-edged sword for the Indian agriculture system as well as for the entire globe. Although it intensified Indian agriculture from a food-scarce to a food-surplus country, it has also thrown several challenges in the form of declining factor productivity, depleting natural resources, low water, and nutrients, and adverse impacts on climate change as well as on human health [1][2][3]. Overuse of chemical fertilizers not only depletes soil nutrients but also reduces the yield and poisons the whole ecosystem [4]. In the past, several management practices, such as biofertilizers/biopesticide application, use of vermicompost, FYM, etc., have been intended to mitigate the negative impact of chemical fertilizers and pesticides [5]. ...
... In ZBNF, the cost of farming activities from external sources (fertilizers/pesticides) is zero as it does not require any credit on purchasing inputs, and crops are cultivated without chemicals exploiting natural resources, such as cow dung/urine, etc. [1,2,6,7]. ZBNF formulations, such as Jeevamrit, Beejamarit, and Panchgavya induce a multifold increase in microbial population and earthworm activity which enhances nutrient availability in soil, strengthens the resistance mechanism, and increases crop productivity [5,8,9]. Enhanced microbial population diversity index improves the stability and resistance of the soil ecosystem [10][11][12]. ...
Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), utilizing natural resources, multiple cropping systems, and cow-dung-and urine-based products to improve soil biology, has been practiced by thousands of farmers in India. However, without any scientific proof, this traditional and ancient technique is mocked as a bugged theory in the scientific community. In the current study, we have investigated the effect of Jeevamrit-cow-dung-and urine-based formulation-on soil chemical and microbial properties of the ZBNF field coupled with metagenomic analysis and the economics of ZBNF. The percentage increase in soil properties, such as organic carbon, available phosphorus, and available potassium, was recorded up to 46%, 439%, and 142%, respectively, while micronutrients, such as Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mn, also increased up to 98%, 23%, 62%, and 55%, respectively, from 2017 to 2019. Whole genome metagenomic analysis revealed that Proteobacteria were dominantly present, and bacterial phyla including Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, and Panibacillus. On the other hand, Ascomycota was the dominating fungal phyla present in the soil sample. Further, functional analysis showed a high representation of genes/enzymes involved in amino acids and carbohydrate metabolism contributing to soil fertility, plant growth, defense, and development. Additionally, the cost-benefit ratio of ZBNF was double the farmer's practice when tested with the rice and wheat cropping system. The results from this study provide a new proof of concept and understanding of the potential of the ZBNF component, i.e., Jeevamrit, in improving soil properties.
... ZBNF movement started in Karnataka during 2002 and shortly spread in South Indian states through various demonstrations, promotional activities and trainings. Recently, from the farmers' success stories especially from Andhra Pradesh [10] and Karnataka [11], many other state governments are encouraging ZBNF with the assistance of central government, progressive farmers, private and public organizations [8,10]. Many studies have reported the capability of ZBNF to achieve higher yields, resource use efficiency, and soil health and agro biodiversity as compared to conventional practices [2, 8,9]. ...
... ZBNF movement started in Karnataka during 2002 and shortly spread in South Indian states through various demonstrations, promotional activities and trainings. Recently, from the farmers' success stories especially from Andhra Pradesh [10] and Karnataka [11], many other state governments are encouraging ZBNF with the assistance of central government, progressive farmers, private and public organizations [8,10]. Many studies have reported the capability of ZBNF to achieve higher yields, resource use efficiency, and soil health and agro biodiversity as compared to conventional practices [2, 8,9]. ...
... There are several successful NF types exist in various regions of the world with different names [10]. Some of the important NF practices are Fertility farming, Native American farming, Nature farming, Rhishi kheti, Low external input sustainable agriculture (LEISA) and ZBNF ( Fig. 1). ...
The Government of India is promoting natural farming (NF) which is evolved from our ancient heritage and traditional cultivation practices. Though NF has many advantages, it is facing several challenges like low yield in initial years, expecting high outputs from low cost of cultivation, lack of local cultivars and livestock, less availability of tree based diverse inputs, dependency on purchase or exchange inputs from other farm hold and dispute in farming type and crop composition. On these backdrops, sustainable and/or resilient agroforestry (AF) systems can be synergized by using principles and practices of AF with NF. This AF assisted NF hybrid model is helpful in diversification and restoration of agroecosystem. AF includes at least one livestock components along with perennial trees and agricultural crops. Trees and livestock based NF is the foremost nature based solution (NBS) for climate change mitigation, food security and land degradation neutrality. In NF, to prepare various plant protection formulations neem, pongamia and various perennial species byproducts are essential which can be substituted by tree components in AF. It also provides continues supply of inputs for jeevamrut and beejamrut preparations along with continuous biomass mulching through nitrogen fixing trees. In addition, AF assisted NF practices reduce methane emission from ruminating livestock by reducing heat stress and increasing the feed quality. Some studies on NF have indicated that yield levels were drastically reduced in several cropping systems. Instead of integrating tree and animal components, these studies focused solely on the multi-location evaluation of various cropping systems. Therefore, it would be premature to recommend its widespread adaption or adoption prior to scientific validation of this NF. This review provides detail information and implications of AF assistance in NF and recommends preferentially, climate resilient, economical, native and naturalized trees and livestock incorporation, along with amalgamation of traditional and improved AF practices.
... A back to the basics agrarian movement is helping to increase the popularity of the ZBNF concept, which was first put forth by Maharashtrian Agriculturalist Padmashri Subhash Palekar in the middle of the 1990s as an alternative to the Green Revolution's methods based on chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and intensive irrigation. Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is an alternative low-input, climate-resilient farming method that has emerged in India and throughout the world to lower input costs and increase yields for farmers from locally available sources/ inputs by doing away with chemical fertilizers and enhancing soil fertility (Bharucha et al., 2020). According to research by Palekar, the expense of external inputs like pesticides and fertilisers is the main driver of farmer debt and suicides globally. ...
A farmer who practises zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) does not need to buy fertilizers and pesticides from the market to ensure the healthy growth of plants. It is a sustainable way to farm that aids farmers in maintaining soil fertility, restores soil health to assure chemical-free agriculture and low production costs, and thereby doubles their income. Although the method encourages chemical-free farming, there is still insufficient data to determine its efficacy. It is one of the most promising farming options or techniques in the face of unpredictable extreme weather. As it does not encourage numerous intercultural activities and as a result the engagement of hired manual labourers, it is a low cost and climate resilient farming techniques where all the inputs are locally available. This practice takes less time and effort than organic farming tasks.
