Govt pushes zero budget farming; farmers, experts say no road map in place

UvThe government claims that if input cost is decreased, farmers will not need to take loans and with zero inputs, they will only earn from their crops without spending anything.

Such farming is being done in parts of some states including Karnataka. However, in Punjab, where the per hectare consumption of fertilisers is highest in the country, farmers are skeptical about how this would work, and how such large scale area can be brought under it. “We are going to enroll 150 farmers from various villages of Jalandhar district under zero budget farming,” said Jalandhar Chief

Agriculture Officer Dr Nazar Singh, adding that when a farmer shifts from inorganic farming to natural farming, the yield for some years goes down because the soil, which is accustomed to a lot of fertilisers and chemical sprays, needs time to adjust to natural farming.
“How a farmer can suddenly shift to zero budget farming and what would be the guarantee of yield?” asked farmer Jasbir Singh of Talwan village in Jalandhar, adding that they are getting 26 quintal wheat, 30 quintal rice per acre currently.

“Around five years ago, I left inorganic farming and shifted to organic/natural farming where I stopped using chemicals, fertilisers in my 15 acres land, due to which I got just 1/3rd of the yield in the first few years. My family was quite upset with me due to the loss we incurred,” said Sher Singh (53) of Meerpur Saidan village, adding that he spent the next four years making up for the loss and is even now getting just half the yield.

“But the price of my crop is more than double compared to the crops grown using harmful chemicals. Also my soil has transformed into a poison-free soil. I store my Basmati and sell it after rice at the rate of Rs 170 per kg, earning Rs 1.50 lakh from one acre only,” he said, pointing out that farmers will need double the price of their crop and financial aid for first few years if they shift to this practice.

He further said, “Though my yield is low, I slowly made a market for my produce and sold my crop more than double of the price against inorganic produce. I also sell vegetables, wheat and paddy at double the rate of the market. According to Sher Singh, natural farming is a need of the hour but for that farmers need a lot of support.

Good idea, but no planning: Experts

“The Modi-1 government had announced doubling farmers’ income by 2022. Now the Modi-2 government has been saying that zero budget farming will help farmers double the income, but is silent about the actual road map. Farmers need solutions not suggestions and there should be budgetary provisions under it to support farmers if crop fails under it,” said Jagmohan Singh, general secretary, Bhartya Kisan Union (BKU), Dakaunda.

“Zero budget farming is good farming practice but in Punjab, which is the food bowl of the country and contributing around 30 million tonnes food grain to the central pool annually, shifting from the current form of farming to zero budget farming is impractical because it will drastically bring down the yield during the first some years. The country may suffer food shortage. Also zero budget farming needs a lot of research and development and huge funds to support the farmers in case their yield goes down drastically,” said Professor Gian Singh, former head of the economics department, Punjabi University, Patiala.

He also asked how this farming would double the income of 75% farmers of the country who have marginal land holdings on which they grow grain for the consumption of their families only.

Dr Charanjit Singh Aulakh of the School of Organic Farming, Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), said growing organic food is a great step but Punjab is the granary of the country and the huge shift from inorganic to natural farming is not possible here because for some years, the yield goes down.

(“For this produce we need markets also because the rate of it is double than that of the other crop. Farmers must be educated against the blatant usage of fertilisers and pesticides first and then transition to natural farming,” he added.)