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History of Natural Farming In the context of serious deterioration of natural resources such as land, water, forest and biodiversity and challenging climate change scenario along with health hazards linked to agricultural produces asso...

History of Natural Farming In the context of serious deterioration of natural resources such as land, water, forest and biodiversity and challenging climate change scenario along with health hazards linked to agricultural produces associated with modern agricultural innovations and practices, a great amount of inclination has been made toward a farming system in close harmony with the principles of natural ecosystem leading to the concept of nature farming or natural farming alongside organic agriculture movement. Nature farming was first advocated as an alternative to chemical farming in 1935 by Mokichi Okada (1882-1955), a Japanese philosopher. He preferred the term "nature farming" instead of "natural farming". The one of the keywords of Okada’s philosophy is that Nature is the God. Nature has its power or capacity to support all life forms including the human being. If respecting the nature or the law of nature, human can produce its food without destroying the environment. Nature does not discriminate any life forms in the world and consistently integrates the plants and animals into a diverse landscape. Therefore, a major tenet of nature farming is to create and maintain natural biodiversity. Hence, human should establish a harmony and peaceful relation with nature instead fighting forever. In order to promote nature farming, Okada organized the Nature Farming Society in 1953. He also started publication of a monthly magazine entitled “Nature Farming” to disseminate his philosophy and technology. However, Okada's concept of nature farming had also been criticized as "an evil theory" as that went against the modern concept of chemical intensive agriculture which considers extermination of all forms of pests to end famines forever. At the beginning, the nature farming was Muhiryo Saibai in Japanese, and translated as “Cultivation without fertilizers”. However, natural composts were extensively used. Thus, “no- fertilizer” is actually inaccurate. Later, Okada changed the term to “nature farming”. His concept of nature farming was based on the intrinsic nature of the soil. On his opinions, the Creator made the soil for the cultivation of grains and other vegetables essential to the support of life. Consequently, the essence of soil is a mystery far beyond the complete comprehension of the modern materialistic science. He criticized agriculture at that moment as falling into evil ways as the farmers underestimated the power of soil and accepted the necessity of using fertilizers, resulting in soil degenerations and alterations and weakened soil power. It was a delusion that insufficient use of fertilizers causes poor crops and farmers resort to still more fertilizers. According to Okada, it is possible to produce large quantity of crops by means of the nature farming method, using only composts without chemical fertilizers and animal manure. He was convinced that the nature farming was the only way to save the farming population and is thus Dr. S. K. Maity/Lecture Note/NRM 121: History of Natural Farming/19-07-2024 Page 1 of 7  deeply connected with the fate of the whole nation. As observed by Okada at that time, nature farming dramatically reduced insect pests, which emerged because of the use of chemical fertilizers. Furthermore, crops grown under nature farming systems suffer much less than others from the wind and storm damage that had been occurring almost yearly at that time. Okada found that the root hairs of plants grown under nature farming systems were much more numerous and longer than those grown with chemical fertilizers. It was also observed that plants grown under nature farming were lower with shorter leaves but bore more grains or fruit. Okada indicated that ignorant of the power of soil, human beings greatly weakened the soil by applying chemical fertilizers and he suggested that, to maintain the power of soil, it was necessary to prevent the soil from being polluted and keep the soil pure by adding nothing but natural composts. Okada summarized six advantages as follows: 1) the cost of fertilizers was saved, 2) labour was halved, 3) productivity was increased, 4) grain volume increased so that there was little loss in cooking and the grain was delicious, 5) insect damage was minimized, and 6) the danger of ascarids and other parasites, a topic of major concern at that time was eliminated entirely. Masanobu Fukuoka (born in 1913, later than Okada) also promoted the idea of natural farming in Japan without any reference to Okada's effort. He is the author of the book "The One-straw Revolution" where he calls natural or do-nothing farming approach. This philosophy clearly root in the philosophy by Laozi, Zhuangzi and Mozi in ancient China. Fukuoka is especially famous and popular in India, where he received the Deshikottam Award in 1988 from Visva- Bharati. Some of his books have been translated into Indian languages and published by Madhya Pradesh's Friends Rural Society. Fukuoka's natural or do-nothing farming approach essentially includes 1) No cultivation, 2) No chemical fertilizers, 3) No weeding, 4) No plant protection and 5) No pruning. In USA, Jerome Irving Rodale, another pioneer in the world tried to establish an agriculture system similar to nature farming during same time. He was the founder of an organization called “The Soil and Health Foundation”, forerunner of today's “Rodale Institute” for the study and dissemination of sustainable agriculture in the United States. There was exchange of ideas by letters and other means between Okada and Rodale on sustainable and natural ways of farming. In his book Pay Dirt, J. I. Rodale wrote, "that a whole new era of agriculture research is in the making, one that will more nearly help to create healthy society and keep it in close touch with the land from which it gets its strength and sweetness." Again, he insisted that agriculture is the base or foundation for the transformation from which to build, as he says, "a country of prosperous farms and a healthy, vigorous people creating a fine, new community life "in their pursuit of happiness." Rodale's concept of agriculture is also known as "regenerative agriculture". Albert Howard, a British colonial officer in India with the title of Imperial Chemical Botanist, carried out agricultural experiments in the early 1900s at IARI, New Delhi, India. He observed the reaction of suitable and properly grown varieties of plants when subjected to insects and Dr. S. K. Maity/Lecture Note/NRM 121: History of Natural Farming/19-07-2024 Page 2 of 7  other pests and found that the factor most important in soil management was a regular supply of compost prepared from animal and vegetable wastes, and the maintenance of soil fertility was the fundamental basis for a healthy crop. As a result of his experiments, Albert reached the conclusion that crops have a natural power of resistance to infection and proper nutrition is required to make this power operative. Returning to England in 1931, Albert became known as the pioneer of the organic movement. Dr. William A. Albrecht (USDA, 1938), Chairman of the Department of Soils at the University of Missouri and a brilliant soil scientist, conducted extensive experiments with growing plants and animals and observed that declining soil fertility, due to a lack of organic material, major elements, and trace minerals, was responsible for poor crops. Rachel Louise Carson (1907-1964) wrote several articles to teach people about the wonder and beauty of the living world, including "Help Your Child to Wonder" in 1956. The key point of Carson's philosophy is the view that human beings are but one part of nature and just distinguished primarily over other parts by their power to alter nature but in some cases irreversibly. Disturbed by the excessive use of chemical pesticides after World War II, Carson reluctantly changed her focus in order to warn the public about the long-term effects of misusing pesticides. In the book "Silent Spring" (written in 1962), she challenged the practices of agricultural scientists and the government, and called for a change in the way humankind viewed the natural world. Permaculture, a compound word from “permanent agriculture” was coined by Bill Mollison in the 1970's in Australia. Permaculture is another farming system rooting in a philosophy similar to nature farming. It was a beneficial assembly of plants and animals in relation to human settlements, mostly aimed towards household and community self-reliance. Permaculture is based on three ethics: 1) care of the earth because all living things have intrinsic worth; 2) care of the people; and 3) reinvest all surpluses, whether it is information, money, or labour, to support the first two ethics. In 1972, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) was founded in Versailles, France. Roland Chevriot, the former president of Nature et Progrès and other persons, led the initiative. The founding members aimed to establish a communication network among organic agricultural communities that had appeared in several countries. IFOAM represents the complete spectrum of stakeholders in organic agriculture movements worldwide. Dr. S. K. Maity/Lecture Note/NRM 121: History of Natural Farming/19-07-2024 Page 3 of 7  Historic contributions to organic agriculture and nature farming:  As early as in 1580, Thomas Tusser, English poet and farmer, observed human behaviour and advised people to care the land and do crop rotations.  Wolfinger (1965) suggested the practice of green manuring.  Charles Darwin established the real foundation for his study of the principles underlying farming and gardening as written in his book entitled The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms with Observations on Their Habits.  King (1911), as a chief of the USDA Division of Soil Management, wrote the book Farmers of Forty Centuries (or) Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea, and Japan after his retirement and described the natural agriculture in the eastern countries.  Rudolf Steiner (1924) marked the beginning of the biodynamic agriculture movement in his textbook, which was based on the series of lectures in 1924.  Pieters (1927) as an agronomist working for the USDA, defined "green manuring," and cover, catch and shade crops and also described the natural agriculture in China and Japan, Greece and Rome, through the Middle Ages to England and America in the 19th Century.  Waksman (1936) told the story of humus, its origin from plant and animal residues, its chemical composition, its physical properties, its importance in nature, especially in soil processes and in plant growth, and finally its decomposition.  William A. Albrecht (USDA, 1938), as the Professor of Soils at the University of Missouri and one of the fathers of the ecological agricultural movement, represents an effort to see "the subject as a whole-- scientific aspects, practical aspects, social and economic aspects; the needs of individuals, groups, and the Nation."  Northbourne (1940) first used the term "organic farming".  Balfour (1943) published her book, The Living Soil, which is an extremely readable exposition of the evidence in favour of biological agriculture. Her conclusions were based on 32 years' comparison of organic, mixed and chemical sections of a farm at Haughley, England.  Edward H. Faulkner (1943) has stated that plowing is wrong, and that the mouldboard plow is not a satisfactory implement for the preparation of land for the production of crops in his book Plowman's Folly. “The fact is that no one has ever advanced a scientific reason for plowing” he stated.  Pfieffer (1947) stressed the importance of the "life process (biological process)", with the farm or garden as a biological organic unit, not a series of unconnected processes.  Cocannouer (1950), in his pioneering work, advocated the controlled use of weeds.  Sykes (1951) called organic farming as Humus Farming.  Hainsworth (1954) supplied in his book Agriculture, A New Approach with one of the best early sources of technical information regarding natural fertilizing and represented an "attempt to gather together relevant material that may have some bearing on the results achieved by organic methods". Dr. S. K. Maity/Lecture Note/NRM 121: History of Natural Farming/19-07-2024 Page 4 of 7   Wickenden (1954) wrote organic gardening practices and built the organic concept in his book, Gardening with Nature: How to Grow Your Own Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers by Natural Methods, based on his chemistry background, and in 1949 he wrote a popular book Make Friends with Your Land.  Easey (1955) has done a substantive work on the subject of Practical Organic Gardening with a thorough and well-documented framework.  Turner (1955) wrote his book Fertility Pastures: Herbal Leys as the Basis of Soil Fertility and Animal Husbandry. Ley is defined as "arable land sown to grasses or clover for hay or grazing and usually plowed and planted with other crops after two or three years".  Hunter (1964) has done the early works on biological control of insect pests.  In his book Our Margin of Life, Poirot (1964) wrote seriously about agriculture, the importance of the soil, and a philosophy based on his observations and beliefs.  In Biodynamic Agriculture: An Introduction, originally published in German, Koepf (1976) described organic agriculture of unusual interest.  Berry (1977) proposed, “The care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility”.  Oelhaf (1978), trained in theology, science and engineering, looks at more than just comparative economic issues and presents a detailed study of internal and external costs and benefits of ecological and conventional agriculture.  Walters and Fenzau wrote about eco-agriculture from an organic perspective on the basis of plant and soil science, agronomy and pest control.  Since 1980’s, organic agriculture has been popularly described, practiced and discussed in more details. Dr. S. K. Maity/Lecture Note/NRM 121: History of Natural Farming/19-07-2024 Page 5 of 7  Gurudev Tagore and The Nature https://www.differenttruths.com/literature/nature-and-environment-as-seen-by-rabindranath-tagore/ Natural Farming activists in India Dr. S. K. Maity/Lecture Note/NRM 121: History of Natural Farming/19-07-2024 Page 6 of 7  Initiatives of Govt. of India  National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) during 2023-24  Course and curriculum on Natural Farming by ICAR  Dedicated web site (https://naturalfarming.dac.gov.in/NaturalFarming/Concept) This lecture note has been developed based on the following literatures: 1. Xu, H. L. (2006). Nature farming in Japan. Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: Research Signpost (accessed from https://www.manage.gov.in/nf/resextn/publications/PUB-JAPAN.pdf on 17 July 2024) 2. Web page: Natural Farming, Niti Ayog. https://naturalfarming.niti.gov.in/significant-contributors/ Dr. S. K. Maity/Lecture Note/NRM 121: History of Natural Farming/19-07-2024 Page 7 of 7