Remembering Bhaskar Save - The Father of Natural Farming in India
‘Natural farming’ is holistic and bio-diverse organic farming in harmony with nature. In its purest evolved form, it is a ‘do-nothing’ path, where nature does everything, or almost everything, and little needs to be done by the farmer. This can best be achieved progressively with tree crops and perennials, especially in tropical climes. As Bhaskar Save explains, “When a tree sapling planted by a farmer is still young and tender, it needs some attention, just like a child. But as it matures, it can look after itself, and then it looks after the farmer.” With annual or seasonal field crops, continuing attention and work by the farmer are needed, but even here, the labour and other inputs progressively diminish while yields improve as the soil regains its health, and symbiotic biodiversity is re-integrated.
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