Manipur and Nagaland is all set to implement the Zero Budget Natural Farming System (ZBNF), a natural form of farming without using any chemicals.
The ZBNF system, an innovative idea of Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, a not-for-profit company of the Andhra Pradesh government, aims to reach out to 6 million farmers and bring 8 million hectares under ZBNF by 2024.
In the first phase , the project is being implemented in 5 lakh acres covering five lakh farmers.
A nine-member delegation from Imphal came on a study tour to the Vishakapatnam Agency on an invitation from Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiative to know about ZBNF.
The delegation decided to implement ZBNF in Manipur and Nagaland after visiting Chintapalle and G.K. Veedhi mandals where ZBNF has been successfully implemented, reports The Sentinel.
ZBNF relies on natural fertilizers such as cow dung and cow urine for seed treatment and ensures production of high –quality crops in an inexpensive way.
The ZBNF system has been successfully implemented in four districts of Andhra Pradesh and so far 6800 master farmers in 60 clusters have been trained.
The training has been provided by Kovel Foundation , an NGO partnering with the RSS for promoting ZBNF which will benefit 60000 farmers of the 60 clusters.
The project is being implemented in a cluster approach to free farmers from relying on chemical fertilizers for farming. It is supported by Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiative.
Kamei Chingkhiungam, coordinator of Rongmei Naga Baptist Association (RNBA), a society helping in livelihood improvement of tribal farmers said that they are amazed to see farmers reaping benefits from ZBNF and so they want to implement it in the entire Northeast.