vishyteki

Scaling such achievements across India requires fundamental changes in the way farming is practiced, researched, organised, and advocated. Here are a few reflections that call for policy changes. India urgently needs healthy soil legislation that considers environmental, social and economic factors. This would help bring diverse stakeholders, such as public health, rural development, and scientific research institutions, to support the transition to natural farming India’s agricultural extension system, which is highly tuned to conventional farming, requires a rejig in terms of imparting knowledge on Agroecology/Natural Farming practices States should encourage and promote village-level crop planning exercises engaging panchayats, borrowing experiences from current interventions in Natural Farming Provide farmers shifting to regenerative farming with regular, high-quality training and support, preferably through farmer-to-farmer learning. Grassroots functionaries such as Village Agriculture Assistants, Village Horticulture Assistants, Krishi Sakhis and CRPs need to be equipped with knowledge on science behind natural farming Krishi Vigyan Kendras and ATMAs need a restructuring and reorientation to adopt and scale natural farming. This requires a time-bound action plan. National-level digital depository on agroecology, making knowledge available on Natural Farming practices and crop-specific protocols in diverse agroclimatic zones Introducing courses in natural farming at state and central universities is essential to develop the human resources needed to meet the National scaling objectives. Furthermore, supporting farmers by using public funds to repay existing agrochemical loans is crucial. loans. There is a need for restructuring existing farm loans so that farmers can access new credit lines to transition to regenerative agriculture Post-harvest infrastructure in regenerative farming clusters should be developed to aggregate produce and ensure premium outputs reach diverse marketing channels. Bio input resource centres are being established by the National Mission for Natural Farming, should be infused with private capital. These farmer-owned enterprises must become resource centres to support transition to NF. Underinvested rainfed areas, which contribute around 45% of India’s foodgrain production, is a good opportunity to nurture and scale Natural Farming (NF). Need for investing in skills and Infra: Brix Meters, micro-biometers to be available at village level to measure basic metrics that capture soil health indicators Requires farmer-led research projects that provide insights into yield gains, crop resilience, water and energy savings and, importantly, demystify ‘ecosystem services’. States should set up knowledge production hubs to drive the Natural Farming transition- develop manuals, crop mixes and document grassroots innovations. The fertiliser subsidy now accounts for roughly 10% of the total budget, and the share is rising. Conflict and instability abroad have made fertiliser supply and prices increasingly unpredictable, leaving the exchequer exposed to every new shock. Subsidized fertilizer encourages excessive and unbalanced application, which degrades soil health and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. It may also have adverse consequences for nutrition and public health. The electricity subsidy raises a parallel concern. Free or low-cost farm power encourages over-extraction of groundwater, putting water resources under unsustainable pressure. Meanwhile, the budget allocated to the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) is modest and treated as a standalone expense. Because it is not linked to the savings it can generate, it remains an under-leveraged investment rather than a self-sustaining one. Whereas the funding for NF promotion and scale-up should be treated as an investment financed by the savings it produces. Each hectare that transitions to natural farming reduces demand for fertiliser and electricity subsidies. These avoided costs should be channelled back to fund the mission’s expansion, so that the programme pays for itself over time instead of competing with other budget priorities. #naturalfarming @APZBNF @ADB_HQ @icarindia @satyatripathi @gaspworld @the_hindu @frontline_india @TEEBAgriFood @FAO @vijaythallam @vijaya_siddham @pvssuryakumar