Centre to promote zero budget natural farming for doubling farmers’ income through the states

In a key move towards its promised goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, the centre is all set to push zero budget natural farming through the states. The move aims to bring down the cost incurred by farmers through zero budget natural farming techniques. In a meeting held by the NITI Aayog on Monday, representatives of the states agreed upon the institutionalize the zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) techniques. The innovative methods are supposed to bring down costs of growing and harvesting crops as minimal as zero.

This means a sharp cut in the purchasing of fertilizers and pesticides for the farmers. Instead, cow dung and cow urine will be utilized for seed treatment and various inoculation processes. This approach not only saves a great deal of amount for the farmers, but also preserves the fertility of soil and protect it from degradation.

Most stated in the country are in consensus about implementing zero budget natural farming techniques, says NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar. The mega project will be rolled under the schemes, the Paramparagat Krishi Yojana and the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. “These pilots will then be validated by ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research), following which states will be allowed to move entirely to ZBNF, Niti’s role is to identify best practices, validate them and transfer them back to the states for adoption,” explains Rajiv Kumar.

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