Growth and sustainability of agriculture-The case of zbnf in Andhra Pradesh

The Government of Andhra Pradesh has introduced Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) in 2016 as an alternative to chemical-based and capital intensive agriculture. The main objective of the ZBNF is to make agriculture economically viable, agrarian livelihoods profitable and reduce agrarian distress and risk through cost reduction and sustainable agricultural practices that are climate-resilient.The assessment of ZBNF through case studies has clearly revealed that the farmers can increase their incomes further if proper marketing support is provided by the RySS. Household survey has clearly showed that farmers constrained mainly due to lack proper marketing support. The principle of 5-Layercropping pattern with a different combination of suitable crops for each layer is recommended for cultivation under ZBNF keeping in mind the agro climatic conditions of the regions to ensure regular flow of income throughout the agricultural year. The replication of these models on wider scale wherever suitable across the farmers needs government support. The promotion of farmers’ collectives of male and female can play a greater role in addressing these challenges in more effective way to realise the potential benefits of ZBNF. These collectives can effectively negotiate with the staff of RySS at village, mandal and district levels as well as with the marketing channels to market their ZBNF products. It is also evident that the ZBNF has contributed to improvements in the agricultural sustainability parameters like soil fertility, quality of crop output, resilience to cope with weather variability, financial empowerment of farmers and respectability towards agriculture occupation.