Wednesday, January 27, 2016

‘Natural farming is the best agricultural practice’

Natural farming is the only agricultural practice that has no side effects. It is the best practice for farmers, soil and environment as well, says Subhash Palekar, crusader of zero-budget natural farming. He has been chosen for Padma Shri Award.
“Under natural farming, farmers need not invest on fertiliser and pesticide, as they come from the farmyard manure prepared from dung and urine of cows. Similarly, the produce can be sold at a higher price, as it is free of chemicals,” he points out.
Mr. Palekar, who is in the city to conduct an eight-day State-level training programme on natural farming, he has been flooded with calls on his mobile phone ever since the Centre announced the Padma Shri Award for him. “This honour goes to all farmers, who believed in me and switched over to natural farming from chemical and organic farming,” he says.
Observing that both chemical and organic farming methods have deleterious impact on the environment in one way or the other, Mr. Palekar underscores the need for minimising emission of greenhouse gases.
“Natural farming can do this successfully. Emission of hazardous gases is zero in this practice. If a majority of farmers switch over to natural farming, the country can successfully reduce the emissions,” he points out.
Farm subsidy
Referring to the economic policy, Mr. Palekar says the Centre is extending subsidies to the tune of Rs. 80,000 crore to agriculture, which is 14 per cent of the national budget. “Most of this amount is being spent on chemical fertilisers and pesticides. By application of chemical fertilisers, not only are we wasting money, but also causing damage to the soil health,” he says.
Mr. Palekar wants the governments to encourage farmers to buy cattle, especially native breeds that produce manure for cultivation, besides setting up markets for farmers to sell farm produces.
“Farmers who switch over to natural farming can reap in the benefits from the very first year. As the soil health improves with every passing year, they will get more and more returns, both in terms of quality and quantity,” he explains.
In natural farming, farmers need not invest on fertiliser and pesticide and the produces fetch at a higher price as they is free of chemicals



- Subhash Palekar,crusader of zero-budget natural farming

Source : The Hindu

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