Natural farming

Natural farming is an ecological farming approach established by Masanobu Fukuoka (1913–2008), a Japanese farmer and philosopher, introduced in his 1975 book The One-Straw Revolution. Fukuoka described his way of farming as (shizen nōhō) in Japanese. It is also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming" or "do-nothing farming". The title refers not to lack of effort, but to the avoidance of manufactured inputs and equipment. Natural farming is related to fertility farming, organic farming, sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, ecoagriculture and permaculture but should be distinguished from biodynamic agriculture.

The system exploits the complexity of living organisms that shape each particular ecosystem. Fukuoka saw farming both as a means of producing food and as an aesthetic or spiritual approach to life, the ultimate goal of which was, "the cultivation and perfection of human beings". He suggested that farmers could benefit from closely observing local conditions. Natural farming is a closed system, one that demands no human-supplied inputs and mimics nature.

Fukuoka's ideas challenged conventions that are core to modern agro-industries, instead promoting an approach that takes advantage of the local environment. Natural farming differs from conventional organic farming, which Fukuoka considered to be another modern technique that disturbs nature.

Fukuoka claimed that his approach prevents water pollution, biodiversity loss and soil erosion, while providing ample amounts of food.

Fukuoka distilled natural farming into five principles:

Though many of his plant varieties and practices relate specifically to Japan and even to local conditions in subtropical western Shikoku, his philosophy and the governing principles of his farming systems have been applied from Africa to the temperate northern hemisphere. In India, natural farming is often referred to as "Rishi Kheti". In India natural farming or rishi kheti includes ancient vedic principles of farming including use of animal waste and herbs for controlling pests and promoting growth. The rishi or Indian sages use cow products like buttermilk, milk, curd and its waste urine for preparing growth promoters. The Rishi or Vedic farming is regarded as non -violent farming without any usage of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. They obtain high quality natural or organic produce having medicinal values.Today still small number of farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu use this farming in India.

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