In Andhra Pradesh, Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) has resulted in considerably higher crop yields
According to a recent assessment of the state's natural farming programme, Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) in Andhra Pradesh has produced noticeably greater crop yields than organic or conventional (synthetic fertilisers and pesticides) farming.
“The ZBNF yield benefit is likely attributed to mulching, generating a cooler soil, with a higher moisture content and a larger earthworm population. There were no significant differences between ZBNF and the conventional treatment in the majority of nutrients,” notes the study published in Agronomy for Sustainable Development journal.
At Prakasam, Nellore, and Kadapa, the results showed that ZBNF yield was much higher than conventional and organic treatments. While ZBNF was much greater in Krishna than the conventional treatment alone, it was also significantly higher in Anantapur than the organic treatment alone.
Given that groundnut is an important oilseed crop in India and occupies 537,000 hectares (ha) in the state of Andhra Pradesh alone, the yield of groundnut kernels was about 30–40% higher with the ZBNF treatment.
The southern state has promoted entirely chemical-free agriculture via the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) programme, which it founded in 2016. It has collaborated with 0.63 million of the estimated six million farmers in the state during the previous six years to promote natural farming.
Yields were increased in ZBNF and maintained in organic farming when compared to the traditional approach, found researchers from the University of Reading in the UK and Rythu Sadikara Samstha, a non-profit organisation established by the government in 2014.
In contrast to conventional treatment, which makes use of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers, organic treatment makes use of acquired organic inputs like vermicompost and farmyard manure instead of synthetic pesticides, fertilisers, or mulch. Instead of utilising commercial fertilisers or pesticides, ZBNF uses mulch and home-made inputs like desi cow dung and urine. It does not include buying any inputs.
In controlled field studies conducted from June 2019 to June 2020, the researchers compared ZBNF to conventional and organic treatments on 28 farms over three crop seasons.
In terms of yield, soil pH, temperature, moisture content, nutritional content, and earthworm abundance, comparisons were done. The farms were dispersed among six Andhra Pradesh districts (Anantapur, Kadapa, Krishna, Nellore, Prakasam, and Visakhapatnam), covering a distance of more than 800 km and corresponding to various agro-climatic zones.
It has been calculated that Andhra Pradesh would save $70 million in annual fertiliser subsidies if ZBNF covered 25% of the state's total cropland.
When compared to the national average of 13.7%, Andhra Pradesh has the greatest percentage (42.3%) of tenant holding, hence the yield gain is significant.
According to the study, there are parallels between ZBNF and conservation agriculture in terms of the adoption of reduced tillage, the application of crop residues, and intercropping to reduce soil disturbance. However, what sets ZBNF apart is the combination of these practises with unique home-made amendments like Bijamrita (a seed treatment ingredients include desi cow dung and urine, CaCO3 and water), Jeevamrutha (applied as a top dressing or foliar spray made with desi cow dung and urine, jaggery etc); Achhadana (mulching using cover crops or dry crop residues applied to the soil surface)