Natural farming in India

“Natural Farming is a chemical-free traditional farming method. It is considered as an agroecology based diversified farming system which integrates crops, trees and livestock with functional biodiversity”.
Natural farming is a system where the laws of nature are applied to agricultural practices.
This method works along with the natural biodiversity of each farmed area, encouraging the complexity of living organisms, both plants, and animals that shape each particular ecosystem to thrive along with food plants.
Natural Farming builds on natural or ecological processes that exist in or around farms.
Natural Farming holds the promise of enhancing farmers’ income while delivering many other benefits, such as restoration of soil fertility and environmental health, and mitigating and/or reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

can be achieved through following specific principles:

1. Adoption of diversified cropping system-based agriculture
2. Recycling of naturally available nutrients in fields
3. Recycling of on-farm generated biomass
4. Use of locally developed and refined practices based on plant, animal and microbial source as raw materials
5. Innovative practices continuously evolve on the field of farmers based on the cropping pattern, local climatic conditions, altitude, soil quality, severity and variability of insects and pests etc.

1. According to natural farming principles, plants get 98% of their supply of nutrients from the air, water, and sunlight. And the remaining 2% can be fulfilled by good quality soil with plenty of friendly microorganisms. (Just like in forests and natural systems)
2. The soil is always supposed to be covered with organic mulch, which creates humus and encourages the growth of friendly microorganisms.
3. Farm made bio-cultures named ‘Jeevamrit, Beejamrit etc.’ are added to the soil instead of any fertilizers to improve microflora of soil. Jeevamrit, Beejamrit are derived from very little cow dung and cow urine of desi cow breed.
4. It holds the promise of enhancing farmers’ income while delivering many other benefits, such as restoration of soil fertility and environmental health, and mitigating and/or reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
5. The system requires cow dung and cow urine (Gomutra) obtained from Indian breed cow only. Desi cow is apparently the purest as far as the microbial content of cow dung, and urine is considered.
6. In natural farming, neither chemical nor organic fertilizers are added to the soil. In fact, no external fertilizers are added to soil or given to plants whatsoever.
7. In natural farming, decomposition of organic matter by microbes and earthworms is encouraged right on the soil surface itself, which gradually adds nutrition in the soil, over the period.
8. In natural farming there is no ploughing, no tilling of soil and no fertilizers, and no weeding is done just the way it would be in natural ecosystems.
9. Natural, farm-made pesticides like Dashparni ark and Neem Astra are used to control pests and diseases.
10. Weeds are considered essential and used as living or dead mulch layer.
11. multi-cropping is encouraged over single crop method.

A healthy soil microbiome is critical for optimal soil health and plant health, and thereby animal health and human health. Soil may be covered with crops for maximum period of the year.
The soil across a farm or larger field/collection of fields should have diverse crops, a minimum of 8 crops over the year.
Minimal disturbance of soils is critical; hence no till farming or shallow tillage is recommended.
Animals should be incorporated into farming.
Integrated farming systems are critical for promoting Natural farming.  Bio stimulants are necessary to catalyze this process. 
There are different ways of making bio stimulants. In India, the most popular bio-stimulants are based on fermentation of animal dung and urine, and uncontaminated soil. Increasing the amount and diversity of organic residues returned to the soil is very important.
These include crop residues, cow-dung, compost, etc. Pest management should be done through better agronomic practices (as enshrined in Integrated Pest management) and through botanical pesticides (only when necessary).
Use of synthetic fertilizers and other biocides is harmful to this process of regeneration and is not allowed.

As per the farmers who are regularly practising natural farming,the following practices has been considered as the most important components of Natural Farming;
Beejamrit.
Jivamrit.
Mulching.
Whapasa.

There are many working models of natural farming all over the world, the zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) is the most popular model in India. Natural Farming improves soil fertility, environmental health as well as helps in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and also promises the enhancement of farmer’s income.
In broad terms, Natural Farming can be considered as a prominent strategy to save the planet Earth for future generations.
It has the potential to manage the various farmland practices and hence sequester the atmospheric carbon in the soils and plants, to make it available for plants.

Several studies have reported the effectiveness of natural farming in terms of increase in production, sustainability, saving of water use, improvement in soil health and farmland ecosystem.
It is considered as a cost- effective farming practices with scope for raising employment and rural development.
Natural Farming offers a solution to various problems, such as food insecurity, farmers’ distress, and health problems arising due to pesticide and fertilizer residue in food and water, global warming, climate change and natural calamities.
It also has the potential to generate employment, thereby stemming the migration of rural youth.
Natural Farming, as the name suggests, is the art, practice and, increasingly, the science of working with nature to achieve much more with less.

Improve Yield: Farmers practicing Natural Farming reported similar yields to those following conventional farming. In several cases, higher yields per harvest were also reported.

Ensures Better Health: As Natural Farming does not use any synthetic chemicals, health risks and hazards are eliminated. The food has higher nutrition density and therefore offers better health benefits.

Environment Conservation: Natural Farming ensures better soil biology, improved agro-biodiversity and a more judicious usage of water with much smaller carbon and nitrogen footprints.

Increased Farmers’ Income: Natural Farming aims to make farming viable and aspirational by increasing net incomes of farmers on account of cost reduction, reduced risks, similar yields, incomes from intercropping.

Employment Generation: Natural farming generates employment on account of natural farming input enterprises, value addition, marketing in local areas, etc. The surplus from natural farming is invested in the village itself.

Many states have taken up initiatives for natural farming promotion Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are among the leading states. As of now more than 10 lakh ha. area is covered under natural farming in India.