Natural farming aims at restoring soil health, maintenance of diversity, ensure animal welfare, stress on efficient use of natural/local resources and promote ecological fairness. Natural farming is an ecological farming approach where farming system works with the natural biodiversity, encouraging the soil’s biological activity and managing the complexity of living organisms both plant and animal to thrive along with food production system.
Aims and Objectives of Natural Farming
Aims and Objectives of Natural Farming
• Preserve natural flora and fauna
• Restore soil health and fertility and soil’s biological life
• Maintain diversity in crop production
• Efficient utilization of land and natural resources (light, air, water)
• Promote natural beneficial insects, animals and microbes in soil for nutrient recycling and biological control of pests and diseases
• Promotion of local breeds for livestock integration
• Use of natural / local resource-based inputs
• Reduce input cost of agricultural production
• Improve economics of farmers
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.
Radhaji Charitable Trust has taken up this project of promoting natural farming at village Dandrala, Derabassi Tehsil of Mohali District. Natural farming is being done in a farm of four acres for demonstration.
Training Center will be opened with the help of CSR funds shortly
Importance of Natural Farming
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.
