Budget 2019: Farmers should take up zero-budget farming, says Nirmala Sitharaman

‘Ease of doing business and ease of living should also apply to farmers’

Kerala, Palakkad,23/06/2019. Farm workers removing weeds at a paddy filed near Kottayi in Palakkad on Sunday. A severely deficient monsoon the paddy farmers in the several part of State dire straits. The rainfall received in the Palakkad district from June 1 19 was 156.8 mm as 0pposed t6 the 266.7 mm of rain Which should have been received under normal circumstances according to the Meteorological Department. Deficiency in rainfall, The paddy saplings need to be transplanted in less than 21 days as per the norm but without water this could not be done. Moreover, the saplings themselves could well dry up. Those who have gone in for direct sowing will have to spend a great deal of time, removing the weeds from the fields. The saplings which have sprouted from direct sowing cannot be manured as there is no rain. There is no water in the paddy fields at Alathur and Chittur. At many places in Palakkad, farmers with ponds are pumping water and transplanting saplings. Photo: K. K. Mustafah.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her maiden budget on Friday, July 5, 2019, said the government will increase its focus on agriculture infrastructure.

“Ease of doing business and ease of living should apply to farmers,” she said.

In this regard, Ms. Sitharaman suggested that farmers take up zero-budget farming. “We shall go back to basics on one count: zero-budget farming. It is not a new thing. We need to replicate this innovative model. Some states have already tried it. Farmers are already being trained in this practice.

“Steps such as this can help doubling farmers income by 2022, in time for our 75th year of independence,” she said.

What is zero-budget farming?

Zero-budget farming is a form of natural farming which is neither chemical-loaded nor organic with its reliance on manure. It is a form of gardening as a self-sustainable practice with minimum external intervention.

This concept was first propagated 25 years ago by Subhash Palekar as a movement for farmers who were in debt due to the Green Revolution and is now being used by a large number of farmers across the country.