The Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) project has been launched by the Himachal Pradesh government to promote organic farming.
- It was officially launched on 29th January 2018 by the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Acharya Devrat in presence of the Chief Minister of HP, Jai Ram Thakur.
- The project was launched from the Palampur Agriculture University, which has dedicated 25-acre land to practice the zero budget farming model.
- The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh laude Sikkim for adopting organic farming and said that Sikkim should be taken as an example to adapt to organic farming methods and to use manures instead of insecticides and pesticides.
- He mentioned in his speech that the state needs to follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to increase agriculture production and the income of farmers by the year 2022.
Aim of the project
- The project aims to promote organic farming in the state and to increase agriculture production and the income of farmers by the year 2022. According to the state authority using pesticides and insecticides will be reduced under this project and more natural manure will be used.
Implementation
- There will be a committee under the state authority. The committee members will make various policies for agricultural produce. Latest research and development will be considered while making policies.
What is Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)?
- ZBNF is set of natural farming methods where cost of growing and harvesting plants is zero.
- It is a farming practice that believes in natural growth of crops without adding any fertilizers and pesticides or any other foreign elements. It is different from organic farming.
- The word “Zero Budget” refers to zero net cost of production of all crops. This means that farmers need not purchase fertilizers and pesticides in order to ensure the healthy growth of crops.
- The inputs used for seed treatments are locally available in form of cow dung and cow urine.
- It includes the use of ‘Jeevamrutha’ and ‘Beejamrutha’ and requires almost no monetary investment.
- The main aim of ZBNF is eliminate use of chemical pesticides and uses biological pesticides and promote of good agronomic practices.
- Farmers use earthworms, cow dung, urine, plants, human excreta and such biological fertilizers for crop protection. It lowers cost of inputs of farmers and gives better capacity to increase the incomes. It also protects soil degradation and helps in retaining soil fertility and is resilient to climate change.
