-The Indian Express The government claims that if input cost is decreased, farmers will not need to take loans and with zero inputs, they will only earn from their crops without spending anything. Jalandhar: THE PUNJAB government has asked agriculture offices across all 22 districts to register 150 farmers each for ‘Zero Budget Natural Farming’ to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, after getting a letter from the Centre...

-The Hindu Powerful lobbies with vested interests see agroecology as a threat to their influence on farming systems Agroecology is recognised worldwide as a system that enhances fertile landscapes, increases yields, restores soil health and biodiversity, promotes climate resilience and improves farmers’ well-being. Its practices are supported by many agricultural scientists, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, farmers’ groups and several NGOs. It is therefore surprising that...

-The Indian Express Government could give fertiliser subsidy directly to farmers and let them decide if they want to practise Zero Budget Natural Farming or use chemical-fertilisers. The Narendra Modi government completed 100 days of its second term (Modi 2.0) last week. On this occasion, most cabinet ministers spoke of the achievements of their ministries. The headlines in newspapers were, however, about the abrogation of Article 370, or the biggest slump...

-The Indian Express Addressing the 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned that India was "focusing on Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)". In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had spoken of the need to “go back to basics”, and to “replicate this innovative model (that) can help in doubling our farmers’ income”. The National Academy of...

-The Indian Express This comes even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the 14th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification on Monday, mentioned that “we are focusing on ZBNF”. India’s premier academic body of agricultural scientists has hit out at Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), terming it as an “unproven” technology bringing no incremental value gain to either farmers or consumers. “The government should not needlessly invest capital...