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.