International Journal of Agricultural Science Research Vol. 12(1), pp. 001-008, May, 2025 ISSN 2327-3321 ©2025 Academe Research Journals

Review

Natural Farming: Opportunities and Prospects in Eastern Plateau and Hill Region of India

Bal Krishna Jha*, Sushant Kumar Naik , Jaipal Singh Choudhary, Reshma Shinde and Ajit Kumar Jha

ICAR-RCER, Farming System Research Centre for Hill and Plateau Region Ranchi (834010), Jharkhand

*Correspondence author. E-mail: *bkjhaicar@gmail.com  

Accepted 22 April, 2025

Abstract

The Eastern Plateau and Hill Region of India cover much of Jharkhand state and adjacent parts of Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. Natural farming is one of the best opportunities to be explored in these potential areas. The demand for food quality, safety and health consciousness, environmental quality, and ecosystem services are on the rise and that’s where the producers, investors, and manufacturers need to ensure food they produce is safe and healthy. It has the potential to address issues related to land degradation, soil health, hydro-physical properties of soils, water, and air pollution, improve ecosystem services, and reduce the cost of cultivation and farmers’ risks associated with chemical input based high-cost farming. The principles of natural farming are based on minimal soil disturbances, mulching/soil cover, application of ghanajeevamrit, jivamrit, beejamrit, crop rotation, intercropping, use of brahmastra, neemastra, agniastra, etc. for nutrient, water and pest management. These basic principles and practices are by nature and have the ability to can reduce pressure on synthetic chemicals and residues in the environment and farm produce. Conventional farming however increased the food grain production by use of improved varieties of seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and farm machinery as an outcome of the green revolution, but gave rise to various problems like loss of fertility of soils, environmental issues and health hazards. So, natural farming is one of the best alternatives and advocates the use of organic waste available in farmlands for meeting the nutritional requirements and plant protection measures of plants. These systems produce more nutrient-dense food that is in greater demand both domestically and abroad. Many farmers in India are transitioning to natural farming since it is simple to implement. To address the various researchable challenges and to meet the goal of food security in the region, study goals must be reoriented in light of the Eastern region's generally diverse and risky agriculture.

Key words: Natural farming, ghanajeevamrit, jivamrit, beejamrit, brahmastra, neemastra, agniastra, mulching, crop rotation.