AP Govt promoting Zero-Budget Natural Farming Method in a big way

Vijayawada: The State government has been successful to stop farmers' suicides in the State after implementing various schemes to benefit the farming community.

The government has introduced Zero-Budget Natural Farming Method (ZNFM) and as part of it, soil fertility test is being conducted to encourage practice of natural farming in the State.

The State government appointed Community Resource Persons (CRPs) in all districts to create awareness on ZNFM using organic fertilisers. The CRPs are guiding the farmers on how to make Jeevamrutham with cow urine and other organic fertilisers at home.

Krishna district agricultural officials are encouraging farmers towards ZNFM in 6,000 hectares in 155 villages and the government also extended marketing facility to the farmers at their villages to sell their organic products. The CRPs are visiting fields every day to guide the farmers who were taking up cultivation under ZNFM with new techniques in farming.

Assistant Director of Agriculture B Renuka said that the State government has been conducting the awareness programmes for farmers on ZNFM at district, mandal and village-level with the support of technology (videos) to protect soil fertility, control pollution levels, reducing the cost of investment, and growing pesticide-free products.

She said that farmers were selling their products on platforms like Mana Gramam, Kshetra Organics, Village Organics at their villages. People are eagerly waiting to buy organic products including fruits, black gram, rice and maize at a few organic shops in the city.  

Lyla company officials are buying organic curry leaves (Karivepakku) at Rs 30 per kg from a farmer in Agiripalli village in Krishna district which has good medicinal values, she added.

She stated that the farmers can reduce the cost of investment with the use of organic fertilisers, which are prepared by the farmers with custard apple, neem, calotropis (Jilledu), tobacco, guava, leaves of maredu and other trees at their homes.

Marlapalem village ZNFM farmer Piccheswara Rao said that he was cultivating ridge-gourds in two acres and reaping benefits. He said that organic vegetables would not get spoiled for a week.