Zero Budget of Natural Farming: The Philosophy of Spiritual Farming in India
Post 1 of 3
The yield-centered orientation to agriculture has met with dissent in different parts of the country over the last three decades. One of the highly creative and robust voice of dissent belongs to Subhash Palekar, a philosopher of agriculture from Maharashtra, India. Accessible only in Marathi for a long time, his thoughts on agriculture have recently become available in a two-volume book in English, The Philosophy of Spiritual Farming: Zero Budget of Natural Farming.
Palekar’s ideas on natural farming evolved from his research done in Maharashtra between 1988 and 1996.Using eclectic textual evidence from the Vedas, historical and literary works, he claims to have rediscovered principles of natural farming that existed a few thousand years ago. Natural farming, for Palekar, is a “spiritual penance (sadhana)” incorporating the ascetic practices of self-purification and self-mastery. He believes in a method of cultivation which makes the already existing nutrients in the soil, such as phosphate, potash, zinc and calcium available in absorbable form by the plants. This is made possible by the millions of micro-organisms present in Jeevamruta (Nectar of Life), a solution Palekar obtained from a mixture of water, dung and urine of indigenous cattle, jaggery and besan flour. Seed and plant diseases are treated with the help of cheap easily available materials like buttermilk, black pepper, neem and tobacco. Jeevamruta is not a fertiliser; it only activates the soil ingredients necessary for a plant’s healthy growth. Since it is to be mixed with the water normally given to plants (or just sprinkled across the field, in the case of dry land cultivation), it involves a lot less labour than that required for putting fertilisers and pesticides. Palekar also offers detailed prescriptions for mulching, soil aeration and pest control, suggesting alongside the modifications required in their application across different crops and soil conditions. The valuable knowledge present in traditional farming, he angrily reminds us, has not found research attention at the agricultural universities. Besides enabling the growth of safe, healthy produce, Palekar’s model eliminates the cost of fertilisers, pesticides and seeds and greatly reduces the incentive to borrow, one of the chief causes for farmer suicides in the country. Hence its evocative title, Zero-Budget Natural Farming.
Palekar distinguishes his model from organic farming, usually seen as the alternative to chemical farming. While vermicompost, biodynamic and other kinds of organic farming avoid the use of artificial chemical inputs they still violate the principles of natural farming since their methods do not enable processes of self-replenishment found in nature. Now an industry with massive commercial interests, the techniques of organic farming are also proving to be unaffordable for individual farmers. After meeting with considerable success in Maharashtra, Palekar has aroused much curiosity among farmers in Karnataka. The levels of excitement caused by his ideas have not been seen since Masanobu Fukuoka’s cult book on natural farming,One Straw Revolution, became available in Kannada in 1988. Many politically committed groups have extended a spirited reception to his ideas. Swami Anand, a Mysore-based farmer-activist, has helped co-ordinate over 70 heavily attended workshops and demonstrations of Palekar’s agricultural methods across the state in the last three years. (More than 900 such workshops have been organised in Maharashtra). Palekar was present for many of these events, lecturing in Hindi, with a Kannada translator by his side, on the evils of the agrochemical industry and the importance of reviving the land through natural farming. Over 50,000 farmers are now practicing his method on their fields in Karnataka. Anand’s book on Palekar’s philosophy of natural farming, written in Kannada, has sold more than 40,000 copies. So far, he has conducted hundreds of workshops to teach farmers of different states.
Palekar wants agriculture to remain a livelihood option in rural India. He wishes to renew faith in natural farming and its ecological sanity at a time when talk of economic growth rates, IT, biotechnology, India’s imminent super-power status and the like threatens to colonise our imagination of the future. Palekar’s proposal for living with the soil is, without doubt, a refreshing episode in contemporary Indian politics.
Source:http://www.atimysore.gov.in/PDF/action_research1.pdf
http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/17/stories/2006011712500300.htm
Palekar’s ideas on natural farming evolved from his research done in Maharashtra between 1988 and 1996.Using eclectic textual evidence from the Vedas, historical and literary works, he claims to have rediscovered principles of natural farming that existed a few thousand years ago. Natural farming, for Palekar, is a “spiritual penance (sadhana)” incorporating the ascetic practices of self-purification and self-mastery. He believes in a method of cultivation which makes the already existing nutrients in the soil, such as phosphate, potash, zinc and calcium available in absorbable form by the plants. This is made possible by the millions of micro-organisms present in Jeevamruta (Nectar of Life), a solution Palekar obtained from a mixture of water, dung and urine of indigenous cattle, jaggery and besan flour. Seed and plant diseases are treated with the help of cheap easily available materials like buttermilk, black pepper, neem and tobacco. Jeevamruta is not a fertiliser; it only activates the soil ingredients necessary for a plant’s healthy growth. Since it is to be mixed with the water normally given to plants (or just sprinkled across the field, in the case of dry land cultivation), it involves a lot less labour than that required for putting fertilisers and pesticides. Palekar also offers detailed prescriptions for mulching, soil aeration and pest control, suggesting alongside the modifications required in their application across different crops and soil conditions. The valuable knowledge present in traditional farming, he angrily reminds us, has not found research attention at the agricultural universities. Besides enabling the growth of safe, healthy produce, Palekar’s model eliminates the cost of fertilisers, pesticides and seeds and greatly reduces the incentive to borrow, one of the chief causes for farmer suicides in the country. Hence its evocative title, Zero-Budget Natural Farming.
Palekar distinguishes his model from organic farming, usually seen as the alternative to chemical farming. While vermicompost, biodynamic and other kinds of organic farming avoid the use of artificial chemical inputs they still violate the principles of natural farming since their methods do not enable processes of self-replenishment found in nature. Now an industry with massive commercial interests, the techniques of organic farming are also proving to be unaffordable for individual farmers. After meeting with considerable success in Maharashtra, Palekar has aroused much curiosity among farmers in Karnataka. The levels of excitement caused by his ideas have not been seen since Masanobu Fukuoka’s cult book on natural farming,One Straw Revolution, became available in Kannada in 1988. Many politically committed groups have extended a spirited reception to his ideas. Swami Anand, a Mysore-based farmer-activist, has helped co-ordinate over 70 heavily attended workshops and demonstrations of Palekar’s agricultural methods across the state in the last three years. (More than 900 such workshops have been organised in Maharashtra). Palekar was present for many of these events, lecturing in Hindi, with a Kannada translator by his side, on the evils of the agrochemical industry and the importance of reviving the land through natural farming. Over 50,000 farmers are now practicing his method on their fields in Karnataka. Anand’s book on Palekar’s philosophy of natural farming, written in Kannada, has sold more than 40,000 copies. So far, he has conducted hundreds of workshops to teach farmers of different states.
Palekar wants agriculture to remain a livelihood option in rural India. He wishes to renew faith in natural farming and its ecological sanity at a time when talk of economic growth rates, IT, biotechnology, India’s imminent super-power status and the like threatens to colonise our imagination of the future. Palekar’s proposal for living with the soil is, without doubt, a refreshing episode in contemporary Indian politics.
Source:http://www.atimysore.gov.in/PDF/action_research1.pdf
http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/17/stories/2006011712500300.htm
29 Feb 2008 22:15
Post 2 of 3
Replying to [cyber chap];
Mr.Kotler, I really thought, this would be of interest to you. A new Mantra of farming in India. All elite farmers/ agricultural organizations here are busily arranging workshops on this.![[em1]](http://img.alibaba.com/images/eng/style/icon/emoticons_smile.gif)
Mr.Kotler, I really thought, this would be of interest to you. A new Mantra of farming in India. All elite farmers/ agricultural organizations here are busily arranging workshops on this.
04 Mar 2008 08:29
Post 3 of 3
Quoting from [cyber chap]:
Replying to [cyber chap];
Mr.Kotler, I really thought, this would be of interest to you. A new Mantra of farming in India. All elite farmers/ agricultural organizations here are busily arranging workshops on this.
My friend I clicked that I thought it was worth reading.
04 Mar 2008 14:50
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