What is this Zero Budget Natural Farming ?
by Mr.Subhash Palekar
Zero Budget Natural Farming means for all the crops, the production cost will be zero. In the Zero Budget Natural Farming nothing has to be purchased from the outside. All things required for the growth of the plant are available around the root zone of the plants. There is no need to add anything from outside. Our soil is prosperous-full of nutrients. How much nutrients the crops takes from the soil? Only 1.5 to 2.0 % Remaining 98 to 98.5% nutrients are taken from air, water & solar energy. Agriculture Universities says false that we have to add fertilizers from outside. If science says, that 98% crop body is constituted by air and water, then where is the need to add the fertilizers from the outside? Every green leaf produces the food throughout the day. These green leafs are food producing factories. What is used the leaves for producing the food? It takes carbon dioxide & nitrogen from the air, water from the canal, river or well given by the monsoon clouds, and solar energy from the sun for producing the food. Every green leaf of any plant produces 4.5 gram carbohydrates per square feet surface, from which we get 1.5 gram grains or 2.25 gram fruits. For preparing this food, the plants take necessary elements like air, water and solar energy from the nature, not from us. Monsoon clouds do not send any bill for the water that he supplied. Neither air sends bill for the nitrogen it supplied or the sun for the solar energy. All these are available free of cost. Green leaves do not use the technology of the Agriculture University for taking CO2 from the air or solar energy from the sun. Whether monsoon clouds use the technology of Agriculture University for giving rainwater? No! All these elements constituting 98% body of the plant are available free of cost. Remaining 1.5% nutrients taken from the soil are also available free of cost as it is taken from the prosperous soil which is enriched with these nutrients. Moreover, for this it does not use the technology of the Agriculture University.
If this is the ultimate truth, then where is the role of Agriculture University and their technology? Where are the Government and their subsidy? Where are these Krishi Pandits? Friends, none of them are existed here, they fool us. Agriculture University says that there is nothing in the soil and we have to add fertilizers from outside. Then my question to them is why it is not necessary in the forest? In the forest or on the bunds of our farm, there are huge trees of Mango, Tamarind or Plum with uncountable export quality fruits in famine also without any application of chemical or organic fertilizers, insecticides, without any cultivation by tractor, without irrigation. There is no existence of any technology of the Agriculture University, no fertilizers, insecticides, cultivation and irrigation. Even though these trees are giving enormous export quality fruits every year in famine also. That means, for the plants to grow and to give the production there is no necessity of adding from outside.
If it the ultimate truth that without adding from outside, the plants grows and give the production. It means that, all the nutrients needed for the growth and production are available around the root zone. There is no need to add it from outside. In the forest, there is no human existence, but, even though the trees are having enormous fruits. That means nature had supplied all the nutrients needed for the plant. Our soil is prosperous-enriched with the nutrients! When I say that our soil is enriched with the nutrients, then I have to prove it scientifically. Now we will see the scientific evidences for it. In year 1924, Dr. Clark and Dr Washington, the world famous soil scientists came to India in search of crude oil. Barmashell Company sends them in search of petroleum products in India. They taken the samples of the thousand feet deep soil and tested it at the American laboratory. The result shows that as we go deeper in the soil, the nutrients needed for the growth and production of the plant are in the increasing quantity. Our soil is prosperous-enriched with the nutrients.
If the scientific evidences say that the soil is enriched with the nutrients, then why Agriculture University says for soil testing? It is also another fraud. The soil testing report says that there is enough amount of Potash in the soil but it is in unavailable form. So, add it from outside. Actually, they are not saying false. They say true but half true. Our soil is enriched with nutrients, but these nutrients are not in the form, which the roots want. These nutrients are available in the form of grains not in the form of Chapati or Roti. If there is enough amount of grains in your house, but nobody (your wife, mother) to cook it. And you do not know cooking, then either you have to be hungry or go to hotel. You will definitely go to the hotel. If we do not want to go to hotel, then you have to bring back your mother or wife. These chemical or organic fertilizers are the teefins of the hotel.
The nutrients in the soil are in the unavailable form. They are in the form of grains not Chapati or Roti. The roots cannot take it in this form. Therefore, the soil testing report says that it is in the unavailable form. This non-available form is converted to available form by the millions of micro-organisms. In the forest, these micro-organisms are present in tremendous amount (One crore or lack per gram soil) that convert these non-available form nutrients into available form and make available to the plants. That is why there is no need to add any fertilizers from outside in the forest.
However, in our farm these nutrients are not available because the micro-organisms which convert these non-available from nutrients into available from are destroyed by means of poisonous chemical and organic fertilizers, insecticides, weedicides and cultivation by the tractor. If these cooks are destroyed them how the roots will get the nutrients? That means if we want to stop the teefins from the hotel, then we have to re-establish these micro-organisms in the soil. How it can be done? By applying the cow dung of our local cow. The cow dung of the local cow is a miraculous culture. As our mother or wife add a spoon curd (culture) to the pot full of milk and whole milk is converted into curd. Likewise, the local cow dung is a culture. One gram of cow dung contains about 300 to 500 crore beneficial effective microbes.
How much cow dung is needed for one-acre land? I had done research on this for six years. I had studied all Indian cow breeds like Gaulao, Lal Kandhari, Khilar, Deoni, Dangi, Nimari from Maharashtra; Gir, Tharparkar, Sahiwal, Redsindhi from West India; Amrutmahal, Krishna kathi, from South India and Hariyana from North India. I have tested the cow dung and urine of all these breeds on every crop, in each Naxatra, in each Charana of each Naxatra. After six years of research, I found some conclusions.
First conclusion is that only cow dung of our local cow is effective not of Jersey or Holstein. We can mix half cow dung and half the dung of bullock or buffalo, but not of Jersey or Holstein at any cost. Secondly, the cow dung and urine of black colored Kapila cow is most effective. Thirdly, the cow dung should be used as fresh as possible and the urine as old as possible. It is more effective. Fourthly, only one cow is needed for thirty acres of land. You need not have to purchase the F.Y.M., chemical or organic fertilizers like compost, vermi-compost etc. My six years experimental result says that for one acre land, only ten kilogram of local cow dung is sufficient per month. One local cow gives on an average about 11 Kg of cow dung, one bullock about 13 Kg of dung and one buffalo about 15 Kg dung per day. For one acre one day’s cow dung is enough. That means thirty days cow dung for thirty acres. There is no need to purchase the F.Y.M. in bulk quantity. I started thinking, what should be added in the cow dung? I examined the forest. I found there the excreta of the animals, birds, earthworms, insects and their urine around that huge tree with uncountable export quality fruits. I thought there must be definitely some relation between the excreta of the animals, birds, insects, earthworms with the production and growth of the plant. One gram of local cow dung contains 300 to 500 crore beneficial effective microbes. These micro-organisms decompose the dried biomass on the soil and get available the nutrients to the plants. Nature uses the dung and urine of the various animals, birds, insects and earthworms in his self-developing, self-nourishing system. That means the use of cow dung and urine is very natural and hence scientific.
I found in the shadow of that huge tree in the forest, few insects like ants working there. But in the shadow only, not outside the shadow. I examined and studied this nature’s self-developing, self-nourishing system for six years. I saw that some sweeteners are secreted from the roots to attract the micro-organisms. In addition, these micro-organisms get available the nutrients from the soil to the root zone. There is symbiosis in the nature. Science had proved this. If nature uses the sweeteners to attract the microbes, then why not we use it? I thought why not to add some sweeteners with cow dung? I started adding Jaggery with the cow dung and urine and examined its effects on each crop in each Naxatra. The results were fantastic.