Presenting the Budget for FY20, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government will go back to basics on one count — zero budget farming.

Sitharaman said steps such as zero budget farming can help in doubling farmers’ income in time for the 75th Independence Day celebrations. She said in a few states farmers are already being trained in this practice. 

What is zero budget farming?

Zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) is a set of farming methods, and also a grassroots peasant movement, which has spread to various states in India. It has attained wide success in Karnataka, where it first evolved.  

The movement in Karnataka was born out of collaboration between Subhash Palekar, who put together the ZBNF practices, and the state farmers association Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS).

Farmers find themselves in a vicious cycle of debt, because of the high production costs, high interest rates for credit, the volatile market prices of crops, the rising costs of fossil fuel based inputs, and private seeds. Debt is a problem for farmers of all sizes in India. Under such conditions, ZBNF promises to cut dependence on loans and drastically reduce production costs, ending the debt cycle for farmers. 

The word ‘budget’ refers to credit and expenses, thus the phrase zero budget means without using any credit, and without spending any money on purchased inputs.

In Karnataka, rough estimates put the number of ZBNF farmers at 1 lakh families, while at the national level, the number could run into millions. This has been achieved without any formal organisation, paid staff or even a bank account. It inspires a spirit of volunteerism among peasant farmer members, who are the main protagonists of the movement.

ZBNF implies that farming is done with no budget and also through natural ingredients.

It relies on four pillars…

* Bijamrita - Seeds mixed with cow dung, cow urine, etc.

* Jivamrita - Water mixed with cow dung, cow urine, jaggery, etc.

* Mulching

* Waaphasa - Aeration of the soil

Benefits of ZBNF

As both a social and environmental programme, it aims to ensure that farming - particularly smallholder farming - is economically viable by enhancing farm biodiversity and ecosystem services.

It reduces farmers’ costs by eliminating external inputs and using in-situ resources to rejuvenate soil, while simultaneously increasing incomes, and restoring ecosystem health through diverse, multi-layered cropping systems.

Cow dung from local cows has proven to be a preternatural cure to revive the fertility and nutrient value of soil. One gram of cow dung is believed to have anywhere between 300 to 500 crore beneficial micro-organisms. These decompose the dried biomass on the soil and convert it into nutrients for plants.

Govt initiatives to support ZBNF

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) is a soil health management component of National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture. Under PKVY, organic farming is promoted through the adoption of organic village by cluster approach and PGS certification.

The scheme envisages…

* Promotion of commercial organic production through certified organic farming.

* The produce will be free of pesticide residue and contribute to improve consumers’ health.

* It will raise farmers’ income and create a potential market for traders.

* It will motivate the farmers for natural resource mobilisation for input production.

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

The aim of the programme is:

* To incentivise states that increase their investment in agriculture and allied sectors.

* To provide flexibility and autonomy to states in planning and executing agri programmes.

* To ensure the preparation of agriculture plans for districts and states.

* To achieve the goal of reducing the yield gaps in important crops.

* To maximise returns for farmers.

* To address the agriculture and allied sectors in an integrated manner.

The Economic Survey also called for framing new policies to improve water use efficiency in the agriculture sector citing IMD’s forecast of less rains in some regions. 

Noting that the country’s agriculture is highly dependent on water, the Economic Survey said there is a major concern whether the present practice of groundwater use can be sustained as the depth of the groundwater level continues to drop.

Observing that fertilizer response ratio has been declining over time, the survey said organic and natural farming techniques, including zero budget natural farming, can improve both water use efficiency and soil fertility.

Welcoming the proposal for zero budget farming, Nabard chairman H.K. Bhanwala has said the move will help millions of farmers cut down their input cost and practice sustainable agriculture.

“The proposal to revive zero budget farming is a well-thought-out plan as it can help millions of famers bring down their input cost and follow sustainable farming. This initiative will help mitigate the rural distress to a great extent,” Bhanwala said.

He said Nabard has been propagating collectivisation of farmers through farmer producer organizations as it allows them to get collective bargaining power in buying inputs and selling their produce.

Other steps to double farmers’ income 

The government said it will invest in a big way in developing infrastructure in both agriculture and allied farm sector, and encourage private entrepreneurs in food processing.

Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech said the government keeps “gaon, garib, aur kisan” at the centre of everything that it does. Both ‘ease of doing business’ and ‘easy of living’ should apply to farmers too.

“We will invest widely in agricultural infrastructure. We will support private entrepreneurships in driving value addition to farmers' produce from the field and for those from allied activities, like bamboo and timber from the hedges and for generating renewable energy,” she said.

Stating that ‘annadata’ can also be ‘urjadata’, the minister said that dairying through cooperatives should also be encouraged by creating infrastructure for cattle feed manufacturing, milk procurement, processing and marketing.

To harness potential in the fishery sector, the government proposed a Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) to establish a robust fisheries management framework and check gaps in the value chain.

“Fishing and fishermen communities are closely aligned with farming and are crucial to rural India. PMMSY will address critical gaps in the value chain, including infrastructure, modernisation, traceability, production, productivity, post-harvest management, and quality control,” she added.

While appreciating the farmers for making India self-sufficient in production of pulses, Sitharaman said, “I am sure they will repeat such a success even in the production of oilseeds. Our import bill shall be reduced by their seva.”

She also proposed setting up of 10,000 new Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to ensure economies of scale for farmers over the next five years.

To ensure fair price to farmers, the minister said that the centre will work with state governments to allow farmers to benefit from electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) which was launched in 2016. “The Agriculture Produce Marketing Cooperatives (APMC) Act should not hamper farmers from getting a fair price for their produce,” she said.