It’s time natural and regenerative farm practices were revived

The National Food Security Act (NFSA) in India states that the right to food must be implemented to guarantee food to the needy people at affordable prices. Thus, food security is of great concern to India. With its population, currently at 143 crore, which is likely to expand to 160 crore by the 2060s, food security will remain the one of the top policy agendas.

One way to fulfil this demand is to further intensify agriculture, which is already under pressure due to a substantial decline in fertiliser efficiency, deteriorating soil health, climate change and over-exploitation of water resources. According to a recent Food and Agriculture Organisation report, intensive agriculture is causing huge economic damage globally. The social, health and environmental cost of intensive agriculture and associated food systems in India is estimated to be a Rs 113 lakh crore ($1.3 trillion) annually.

The other approach is to examine alternative systems that have been part of the agriculture and farming communities since the pre-modern agricultural period, modify them using science-based agro-ecological principles, examine their feasibility and upscale them to secure the future of sustainable farming. This will ensure food and ecological security by improving farm productivity and farmers' profitability, protecting natural resources and improving soil health and biodiversity.

Indian agriculture must widen its vision. It should not just rely on intensive agricultural practices through input subsidies, which started in the 1960s during the Green Revolution and are causing damage to society and planetary health. It must mainstream natural, organic and regenerative farming to realise food and ecological security. Currently, a fraction of the farmers practise natural, organic or regenerative farming. The time is right to understand and evaluate these different systems so that the agricultural landscape can be diversified, strengthened and made future-proof.

It is not widely recognised that natural farming originated in India. This was noted by Sir Albert Howard, an imperial economic botanist and director of the Institute of Plant Industry, Indore, during his service between 1905 and 1931 in India. It was also known as the Indore process. Sir Howard described natural farming as a system that follows the cycles of nature to produce food. It aims to produce food holistically by maintaining a balance between crop and soil health and focusses on the well-being of farmers and consumers. Sir Howard formalised the principles of natural farming. Today, less than one million hectares are under natural farming, practised by about 2.2 million farmers, predominantly small farmers. Ironically, intensive farm practices were adopted in the 1960s, overlooking the sustainable practices that were locally developed and embedded for centuries.

The principles of natural farming also inspired Lady Eve Balfour and Jerome Rodale as they pioneered organic farming movements in the UK and the USA respectively in the mid-20th century. The term natural farming 1979 onwards was re-popularised by Japanese farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka as the science of growing food naturally.

In India, with its centuries-old practice of natural farming was popularised by Subhash Palekar, who initiated the movement for zero-budget natural farming around the turn of the century.

Organic farming prohibits synthetic inputs, such as chemical fertilisers, genetically modified seeds, growth hormones and antibiotics. The organic movement began in the early 20th century. Organic food is grown using the principles primarily based on standards advocated by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). The IFOAM-Organics International works in over 100 countries.

In India, about 2.7 million hectares are under certified organic farming. It is an extension of natural farming, but comes with a third-party certification of authenticity and, hence, a price premium in the market. Food produced using natural farming does not require certification.

The term regenerative farming was coined by the Rodale Institute, USA, in 1980 and has become popular during the last five years. However, the practices of regenerative farming existed long before, as Sir Howard founded them in the early 20th century in India. It is defined as the system of food production that promotes the judicious use of inputs, promotes farmers' well-being and focusses on improving human and soil health. It aims to conserve resources and provide a rehabilitation approach to producing food by improving soil, land, water and biodiversity.

These farming systems originated in India when Sir Albert Howard described the local, sustainable farming systems as natural farming systems. Comparing and contrasting these systems allows us to conclude that regenerative and natural farming are highly productive systems, with better social and ecological outcomes.

These systems are being adopted in farms worldwide. They can offer millions of farmers in India an alternative to improving climate resilience and increasing their incomes while producing enough food required for the nation's food security.

Organic farming, which is distinguishable from local inputs-based natural farming, is often co-related with high consumer prices. It has its place with conscious consumers who have the buying power and support a responsible food production system.

As much of the agricultural land in India is under intensive agricultural practices, there is a need to re-examine the role of natural, regenerative farming across all agro-climatic zones. An appropriately diversified approach can be adopted based on the geography and social and ecological conditions. This will help achieve a rapid uptake of natural or regenerative farming practices and enable agricultural diversification and adoption of sustainable and equitable farming systems.

The recently launched National Mission on Natural Farming by the Government of India is a step in this direction. The government has set the goal of adoption of natural farming by 10 million small farmers by 2026. Once it is achieved and replicated at scale, it will improve the livelihoods of millions of farmers and enhance the climate resilience of farms. Millions of consumers will have access to food grown responsibly and free from harmful chemicals.

Following such policies, India must redesign its agriculture with a clear strategy to mainstream natural, organic and regenerative farming to secure its food and ecological and nutritional security.