Committed to natural farming

Green revolution through use of hybrid varieties, fertilizers and pesticides may have made many countries including India self reliant in food production. But, over the decades, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides has destroyed the fertility of soil, environment and human health. This has diverted a large number of Indian farmers back to organic and natural farming.


Subhash Palekar, an agriculture graduate from the city's College of Agriculture, found the status of agriculture in the country, which was not just gradually decreasing the fertility of soil but also causing irreparable damage to the environment, very disturbing. Palekar, who belongs to a small village called Belora in Amravati district, decided to take up the issue of reviving the soil fertility and restoration of environment as the mission of his life in 1988-89. He began scientific research and by 1995 concluded that agriculture could be made profitable even without use of any hybrid seeds, fertilizers and pesticides.


Now a crusader of a new concept called as 'zero budget natural farming', Palekar, who has picked up the sobriquet 'krishi ka rishi', goes from village to village promoting the new cultivation practice which does not require any input at all from outside the farm. He is also against organic farming and claims that even that is against nature.


Palekar has written 21 books in Marathi, English, Hindi and many south Indian languages too to promote natural farming. He spends almost 25 days in a month holding lectures, seminars and workshops for farmers on zero budget farming which does not require any investment at all. He has picked up a good following all over the country in the last decade. "In Vidarbha, 10 lakh farmers have taken to complete natural faming," he says.


In natural farming the field of a farmer is considered as a unit. Since farmer does not use hybrid varieties he does not have to buy seeds and uses only his seed. The farmer is not expected to use even tractor as it generates pollution from diesel used in it. All other inputs are generated in the farm itself.


"One cow is enough to produce fertilizers for 30 acre land. Cow urine is used as pesticide. Farmer can produce 'jeevanmrit' which is made from cow urine and jaggery as best pesticide. Leaves from different plants are decomposed in the field and used as manure along with cow dung," explains Palekar. The system expects that the farmer does not purchase anything from city. He should come to the city only to sell his produce.


"Agriculture practices adopted from West have added to the climate change to a large extent. By taking to natural farming we can honour our commitment to minimizing the green house effect and global warming caused due to conventional agriculture," says Palekar.