Zero budget Farming and Organic Farming - A comparison

            Zero budget Farming and Organic Farming - A comparison

            A miracle in the agricultural practice started with the discovery of zero budget farming.LiterallY. it means there is no money farmers required to spend in starting agriculture, but we can reap the benefit without any harm to the soil and crop altogether.  The only expense in this type of farming is maintenance of crop which is several times less than the chemical fertilizer used farming. The credit goes to “Subhash Palekar” of Maharashtra who after serious research and experiment found out the zero budget farming. Many argue that this method of farming is imitation of organic farming.  Unlike the organic farming the cost of the fertilizer preparation is very less or completely null.  The organic farming is highly scientific, it involves analysis of soil, water crop and many entities.  Production of fertilizers in organic farming like vermicomposting is sometimes expensive to small farmers of India who owns land less than one acre and too it is subsistence farming.  But in the zero budget farming a farmer with single cow can prepare fertilizers from the cow dung and urine can be applied to acres of land devoid of any other expenses.  It has been proved in Karnataka where the zero budget farming is practiced highly by large farmers and in the rest of the country few farmers practicing here and there.  The advantage of zero budget farming is farmers need not to spend anything from their hand.  The process of zero budget farming is easy to apply and any illiterate farmer can do without any special knowledge.  The value of products from the zero budget farming is high in demand in the marked for its benefit.  The land can be reclaimed back to the earlier stage that is given a new life.  Labour requirement is not needed largely.  The crops and plants grow naturally and no need to feed any nutrients in anti-natural way.  Despite the advantages the scientific way of farming cannot be neglected at all.  The new farm practice should be the combination of both the zero budget and scientific farming.  Where the farmers can prepare fertilizer by their own cost from the cow dung and from the various available domestic items.  The inputs should be met by their own without depending on any external sources or any big investment.  They have to learn the knowledge of soil, crop and water applications and their efficient usage.  In the farmers suicides statistics of 2001 Tamilnadu stands with 985 suicides ranking 8^th overall, Thanks to the Tamilnadu government schemes and policies. 

Recommendation for Future progress

The delta region lands should be rejuvenated with the scientific rational way of land rehabilitation.  The underground water level should be increased by constructing new ponds, lakes, tanks in each and every village panchayat.  The rain water harvesting should be made compulsory in this region.  Indiscriminate use of electric motors/ bore wells must be regulated in order to check ground water depletion.  District Industries center scheme of vigorous extension agencies started in 1978 should be extended to all villages with the background of their crops where they are produced in large quantity.  Storage and processing of food crops and other crops is important work that needs to be done.  The government should start agro based small and cottage industries near to the production area.  This will stop the migration of farmers moving towards cities in search of job.  The Government should make legislation to stop the real estate demons from encroaching the agricultural land and plotting of agricultural land for construction should be bring back to the agricultural activities.  Computerization of land records is the important need of the hour.  The pass books, patta books should be issued very quickly to the farmers to make them ensure a distress free administration.  The role of e-governance should be widened to agricultural activities it should impart knowledge to all the persons irrespective of land they possess.  Camps, classes and training should be given to each village in various agricultural and its related activities.  The harvested crops and food products needed to be sold in the market.  So procurement units should be created in all the panchayat levels, where the farmers can able to sell any products including the domestic products at a proper price. Educational loans scholarships to be given to the students from agricultural background.  The persons practicing agriculture are deprived of all other benefits, so there should be quota for agriculturalists family members in the government job.  Most of the civil and criminal cases arising out of skirmishes between parties of farmers or cases related to agricultural land or farmer being the applicant should be given free charges in for their cases in all the courts of India.  These recommendations will fructify the agricultural practice and enlighten a new life in the farmers of cauvery delta as well as to the whole India.