జర్నల్ ఆఫ్ ఎర్త్ సైన్స్ & క్లైమాటిక్ చేంజ్

నైరూప్య

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) for Sustainable Agriculture: A Review

Aakriti Chauhan

Environmentally focused solutions have raised the sustainable intensification and agro-ecology.

Agriculture was, by default, organic throughout the world before the technique of manufacturing synthetic nitrogenous fertilizer was discovered in 1903. Agriculture is an important sector in India. Most of the farmers heavily depend on inorganic Agrochemical inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides. These agrochemicals contaminate groundwater and reduce soil fertility over time. The continuous use of pesticides and chemicals is a serious problem for the health of farmers across India. Synthetic fertilizers were introduced in India during 1965-66 and their use grew rapidly. However, by the end of the twentieth century the ill-effects of such chemical-based farming were very well understood by the common Indian people and demand for organically produced food started growing. The word “budget” refers to credit and expenses, thus the phrase “zero budget” means without using any credit and without spending on inputs. “Natural farming” means farming without using the chemicals. Zero Budget Farmers use natural pesticides and fertilizers. The principal methods of ZBNF include crop rotation, green manures and compost, biological pest control.