By HH Mohrmen
It was recently reported in the media that the Imphal-based Central Agriculture University with its branch at Kyrdemkulai, Meghalaya has introduced a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Farming. However, this news did not receive the attention it needed. One may ask why this report is important to discuss. What is so crucial about natural farming, and what exactly is natural farming?
During the launch of the new degree program, Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Secretary Directorate of Agricultural Research & Education (DARE) & Director General Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, mentioned a few points that led to a change in the strategy of promoting natural farming in the country. He stated that, considering the agro-ecological conditions and resources available to small and marginal farmers, natural farming is emerging as an alternative form of agriculture. Natural farming emphasizes the best possible use of indigenous knowledge and practices in accordance with agro-ecological principles.
The second important point he mentioned was the need to make agriculture in the country both profitable and sustainable. The new thinking today is that farming needs to be a sustainable activity. Natural farming also ensures the integration of modern science and technology with traditional thoughts and practices. Gone are the days when traditional practice is considered old and outdated. Pathak is of the opinion that this integration is the need of the hour, and for agricultural students are crucial to achieving this goal. It is also pertinent to note that agriculture cannot be left without the use of modern technologies; therefore, the judicious use of modern tools and techniques can boost agricultural production without compromising quality.
Hence, the development of human resources and trained manpower in natural farming is the need of the hour. Pathak urges the ICAR to focus on education, research, and extension in the field of Natural Farming. Agri-graduates in the field of natural farming should be made ambassadors with innovative thought processes capable of fostering social, cultural, and economic growth. The focus on natural farming is not only in India, but the entire agricultural world is now shifting towards it. But what exactly is natural farming?
Natural Farming
It is now a new buzzword in the world of agriculture, particularly in India, with many states, including Meghalaya, joining the bandwagon of introducing natural farming in their state. In short, natural farming is a practice that is chemical-free but embraces modern scientific advancements in agriculture, making it environmentally friendly. It takes into consideration the ecology of the area, resource recycling, and on-farm resource optimization. Natural farming is a practice that seriously considers the ecology of the area. It is, in fact, traditional farming improved with modern science. Unlike modern agricultural systems that encourage mono-cropping, natural farming is based on a diversified farming system that integrates crops, trees, and livestock with biodiversity as the larger canvas of the system.
It is also based on making the best use of biomass produced from the farm, rather than using synthetic chemical inputs to increase production. It is a total shift from the current agricultural practice, which depends on chemical inputs and hybrid seeds. It is also expected that natural farming will help maintain soil aeration and fertility by using locally available inputs, encouraging the soil’s biological activity, and managing the complexity of living organisms in the soil. The soil of the land is not looked at as a factor that contributes to production but rather as a living entity. But the most important aspect of natural farming is that it is expected to reduce farmers’ dependency on inputs from outside, including making use of locally available seeds. Natural farming is considered to be a low-cost farming method with the potential to engage more farmers in the activity and improve rural development.
In a nutshell, natural farming is a farming practice that takes into consideration soil health, ensures crop diversity, guarantees animal welfare, makes the best use of locally available resources, minimizes the use of outside inputs, and works in perfect relationship with the ecology of the place. In a way, natural farming is similar to traditional farming or, rather, indigenous farming practiced by the local people is natural farming by default.
Natural Farming in
Meghalaya
Perhaps it is not wrong to say that in Meghalaya, Carmo Noronha, Executive Director of Bethany Society, first introduced natural farming. Natural farming was introduced when a training supported by the Asian Development Bank was organized by Bethany Society in collaboration with organizations like the Society for Urban and Rural Empowerment (SURE). For many, it was the first time that they were aware of this farming system. For this writer, livestock farming using natural farming practices was an eye-opener. Using bio concoctions that were produced without chemicals and using only local materials helped eliminate the foul smell in the farm, which was the icing on the cake. All the concoctions used as pesticides or compost in natural farming have no chemicals, only local components used in making the different mixtures.
Natural Farming
and Seeds
Natural farming also lays emphasis on using traditional seeds, but in some cases, this effort comes too little too late. For so long, farmers were introduced to genetically modified high-yielding varieties of seeds, and in many cases, the popularity of these seeds made people ignore and neglect their traditional seeds. In the process, local seeds gradually disappeared from the area. On January 25, 2020, the Society for Urban Rural Empowerment (SURE) organized a Rice festival at Muckhap, and during the deliberation, where the then Deputy Commissioner, Dykes L.S. Garod, who is from the region and comes from a farming family, reminisced about the many rice varieties in the region that are lost forever. The rice variety that he was familiar with when he was young is nowhere to be found now. In some areas, the presence of some custodian farmers helps keep the seeds of some of the crops that they grow in their areas for posterity.
Natural Farming
Bio-Concoction and its Other Uses
In natural farming, the use of bio concoctions is a must, and all these mixtures are made from non-chemical and locally available materials. These mixtures are very effective, especially in animal farming, where using these concoctions helps get rid of the smell from piggeries or poultry farms. But Bethany Society, under Carmo’s leadership, used the mixture even in waste management. These concoctions were found to be useful not only in the farming sector but also in waste management. I was told by Carmo that the Merry Maidens of Marten (as he would call them) use these same concoctions to convert biodegradable waste to compost after segregating the waste. It was also found that the Waste Recovery Centre (WRC) at Umpling also uses the same bio-concoction while managing their waste.
There is an Agroecology Farming System too
On the other hand, the Food and Agriculture Organization, in order to guide countries to transform their food and agricultural systems, mainstream sustainable agriculture on a large scale, and achieve Zero Hunger and multiple other SDGs, suggested the 10 elements of agriculture. The 10 Elements emanated from the FAO regional seminars on agroecology. They include, Diversity; Synergies; Efficiency; Resilience; Recycling; Co-creation and sharing of knowledge (describing common characteristics of agroecological systems, foundational practices, and innovation approaches) Human and social values; Culture and food traditions (context features) Responsible governance; Circular and solidarity economy (enabling environment). These 10 Elements of Agroecology are interlinked and interdependent.
Agroecology in
Meghalaya
As a matter of fact, it was the North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity (NESFAS) that introduced Agroecology to the state and the northeast region of the country. NESFAS, in a project with Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA) and supported by the World Bank, has formed Agroecology Learning Circles in one hundred villages in Meghalaya. The basic activities of these ALCs are to document traditional knowledge on farming practices by the local people and conduct experiments to find out its efficacy. It is, as Dr. Pathak said, the integration of modern science and technology with traditional thoughts and practices. This point was also made by Phrang Roy, founder Chairman of NESFAS many years ago. It is the judicious use of modern tools and techniques to boost agricultural production without compromising quality. Many cases were experimented with, and the same have been documented, and in the future these could be valuable resources for the state and the University.
It is, therefore, important to note that the thinking in the world of agriculture is to ‘go back to nature.’ A farming system which looks at ecology as a broad canvas, call it by any name, is going back to nature. It may be called natural farming or Agroecology; it is a farming practice which takes into consideration the impact it has on the nature or the ecology of the place.