February 15, 2025
Bundelkhand is one of India’s most drought-prone regions. For farmers here, climate change is not a future threat — it is a daily reality. Unpredictable rains, soil degradation, and the rising cost of chemical inputs have pushed many farming families to the brink.
Lokpath Charitable Trust’s Nature & Agriculture program is offering a different path: Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF).
What is Zero-Budget Natural Farming?
Developed by agricultural scientist Subhash Palekar, ZBNF is a farming method that uses locally available natural inputs — cow dung, urine, and herbal preparations — to build soil health and grow crops without expensive chemicals.
The “zero-budget” refers to the near-zero expenditure on external inputs. Farmers use what they have on their own land and from their own cattle.
Key Practices We Teach
1. Jivamrit — A fermented solution of cow dung, urine, jaggery, and gram flour that activates soil microorganisms. Applied to fields, it dramatically improves soil biology.
2. Bijamrit — A seed treatment using cow dung and urine that improves germination and provides early disease resistance.
3. Mulching — Covering soil with organic matter to retain moisture, a critical technique in water-scarce Bundelkhand.
4. Intercropping — Growing multiple crops together to maximize land use and reduce pest pressure.
Surendra’s Story
Surendra Kushwaha, a BA graduate who returned to farming after failing to find suitable employment, was spending more on inputs each year but seeing no improvement in yields.
After Lokpath trained him in ZBNF:
- Input costs dropped 20%
- Yields increased 40%
- Annual income grew from ₹60,000 to ₹1,00,000
“The soil is alive again,” he says. “I can see earthworms everywhere on my farm now. That never happened before.”
Climate Resilience Built In
ZBNF naturally builds climate resilience:
- Healthy soil retains more water during drought
- Diverse crops provide food security when one crop fails
- No chemical dependency means farmers are not trapped by rising input prices
- Carbon sequestration — healthy soils store carbon, helping address climate change
Our Reach
- 214 farmers trained in ZBNF
- 60 demonstrations conducted across project villages
- 15 farmers’ groups formed for peer learning and collective action
- 20 villages covered for crop residue management
The Road Ahead
We are working to connect ZBNF-trained farmers with organic markets where they can get premium prices for their chemical-free produce. Market linkage is the next frontier in making sustainable farming not just environmentally sound but economically rewarding.