Top priority to zero-budget farming, says Somireddy

‘Aim is to cover entire State in the next eight years’

Way forward: Agriculture Minister S. Chandramohan Reddy addressing a workshop in Vijayawada on Thursday.

Agriculture Minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy said the government targeted to expand the Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) throughout the State in the next eight years through capacity-building and using pesticides, fertilizers and other inputs that do not cause depletion of soil quality, which is crucial for sustainable agriculture.

Addressing an international workshop on the theme ‘building perspective and capacities to measure climate impacts due to changes in agricultural practices’ jointly organised by A.P. Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (AP-RSS), Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives and US-based Coalition on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (C-AGG) here on Thursday, Mr. Chandramohan Reddy said the ZBNF crops have been able to withstand long dry spells and unseasonal rains and giving higher yields than the conventional varieties. Crop cutting experiments showed that the production cost of ZBNF crops was less, he stated.

Eco-friendly approach

C-AGG Executive Director Debbie Reed said there was an evolving body of research on the GHG emissions from the agricultural production systems and livestock and by adopting ZBNF, the costs could be brought down considerably besides making the crops environment-friendly.

She stressed the need for governments to create an ecosystem where the best ZBNF practices are replicated in the fields.

A.P. Government Special Chief Secretary (agriculture and cooperation) B. Rajasekhar, Advisor T. Vijaya Kumar and others participated.