Question

The farming model proposed by Subhash Palekar is
1. Low budget organic farming
2. Zero budget natural farming
3. Multi-level organic farming
4. Nature friendly organic farming

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : Zero budget natural farming

The correct answer is Zero budget natural farming.

•  Zero budget natural farming.
  • Zero budget natural farming is a method of chemical-free agriculture drawing from traditional Indian practices.
  • It was originally promoted by Maharashtrian agriculturist and Padma Shri recipient Subhash Palekar, who developed it in the mid-1990s as an alternative to the Green Revolution's methods driven by chemical fertilizers and pesticides and intensive irrigation. 
  • According to Mr Palekar, with the caveat that it must be a local Indian breed-not an imported Jersey or Holstein.
  • Mr Palekar is against vermicomposting, which is the mainstay of typical organic farming, as it introduces the most common composting worm, the European red wiggler to Indian soils.
  • The Indian Council of Agricultural Research is studying the ZBNF methods practised by basmati and wheat farmers in Modipuram (Uttar Pradesh), Ludhiana(Punjab), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and Kurukshetra (Haryana), evaluating the impact on productivity, economics and soil health including soil organic carbon and soil fertility.

•  Subhash Palekar
  • Subhash Palekar is an Indian agriculturist who practised and wrote many books about Subhash Palekar Natural Farming (SPNF) Formerly ZBNF (Zero Budget Natural Farming).
  • He practised Zero Budget Natural Farming without using pesticides to Cultivate.
  • He was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2016.