Mentor’s Comment:
Introduction should explain about resilient food system and its features. Like it can adapt and transform themselves in such as way that no matter what the future looks like, they continue producing enough healthy food without damaging the environment and contributing to the livelihood generation.
Further, it should mention the effects of climate change in agriculture. Like temperature and water stress, effects on quality, loss of moisture from the soil and organic matter which affects soil fertility and decrease yields, change and decrease in rainfall pattern etc.
Next, mention how natural farming will help in environment sustainability.
Next, talk about zero budget natural farming where farming is done without the use of chemicals and inputs.
Next mention about how zero budget natural farming help in creating a resilient food systems. Like, diversification of crops, free from health hazards, reduced input expenditure, use of various methods of reduce moisture loss etc. One can also mention example of Andhra model of zero budget farming.
Next, mention way forward, most in India’s context.
Model Answer:
Definition:
- Re-silent Food System is a food system which can adapt and transform themselves in such a way that no matter what the future looks like, they can still produce enough healthy food to which everyone has access, avoid environmental damage, and contribute to livelihood generation.
Effects of Climate Change in Agriculture:
- Temperature and water stress affects leaf formation, flowering, and growth.
- Increase in temperature affects the quality of cotton, fruits, vegetables, tea, coffee, and medicinal plants.
- Increased temperature leads to loss of moisture from the soil and soil organic matter which will affect soil fertility and decrease yields.
- If rainfall reduces by 10 percent, there will be decrease in yield of groundnut.
- There will be increased risk of pests and diseases due to change in the pattern of host and pathogen interaction.
- Temperature increase of 5°C by 2050 will lead to a decline of yield in water-intensive
- crops such as rice by 8–9 percent and wheat yields by 2–6 percent.
- There will be negative impacts on sorghum productivity due to reduced crop durations, if temperatures increase by 3°C.
- For every two-degree rise in temperature, the agriculture GDP of India will reduce by five percent.
- The need for a climate resilient approach to agriculture is critical for India with 60 percent of Indian agriculture being rain fed and more than 80 percent agriculturists are small-holder farmers.
Natural Farming:
- Popularly known as “do nothing” farming, natural farming is an environmentally sustainable way of growing food founded not on a technique, but on a principal of building communion and kinship between farmer and nature.
Zero Budget Natural Farming:
- It is a natural farming technique in which farming is done without the use of chemicals and without using any credits or spending any money on purchased inputs.
- ZBNF reduces the cost of production down to zero due to the utilization of all the natural resources available in and around the Farmers use earthworms, cow dung, urine, plants, human excreta and other biological fertilizers for crop protection. It has been developed by Subhash Palekar
- It has four important non-negotiable guidelines: Bijamrita (Seed Treatment using local cow dung and cow urine), Jiwamrita (applying inoculation made of local cow dung and cow urine without any fertilizers and pesticides), Mulching(activities to ensure favorable microclimate in the soil), and Waaphasa(soil aeration).
How can Zero budget natural farming help in creating a resilient food systems?
- Diversification of crops through Zero Budget Natural Farming provides nutritional balance and helps overcoming malnutrition which is rampant in Indian, especially in rural areas.
- Zero Budget Natural farming also free farmers, their family and neighbors from health hazards which were due to contamination by chemicals of the soil and groundwater.
- ZBNF through reduced expenditure on expensive inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides cuts down on input cost and increases farmer income.
- Farmer of drought-prone areas adopts mulching and Waaphasa to reduce the loss of natural moisture of the soil, increase soil aeration, enhance soil health and fertility and ensure favorable microclimate in the soil.
- It focuses mainly on small communities and family settlements to which it ensures livelihood and self-reliance.
Andhra Model:
- Started in 2015, ZBNF scheme has been rolled out to 1, 38,000 farmers across all 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh, covering almost 1, 50,000 acres of agricultural land.
- It calls for usage of natural farming practices like low-cost locally-sourced natural concoctions, inoculums and decoctions based on cow dung, cow urine and jaggery to eliminate the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
- Andhra Pradesh’s ZBNF experiment could become a role model for low-carbon and climate
- resilient agriculture, generating livelihood opportunities while safeguarding our natural ecosystems.
Way Forward:
- India being a hotspot for climate change and having 15 broad agro-climatic zones and 127 sub-zones, the presentation of climate change and its effects will vary from region to region. Hence a ‘one size fits all’ approach will be detrimental to the agriculture and food security of the country.
- Zero Budget Natural Farming can have a positive effect on many of the sustainable development goals as it provides solutions to twin challenges: adaptation to climate variations and sustainability of the resource base with increase in productivity, to meet future food security demands.
- Agricultural scientists in India have to rework their strategy so that farming is in consonance with nature.