Zero budget natural farming for the Sustainable Development Goals, Andhra Pradesh, India
The Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) programme in Andhra Pradesh can help six million farm families in the state and make significant progress towards the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said an independent study. The study, by non-profit Council on Energy, Environment and Water, was released by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and United Nations Environment Programme Executive Director Erik Solheim. The study maps potential social, economic, and environmental impacts of the ZBNF programme in relation to the specific targets under each of the SDGs. By adopting the natural farming practices, ZBNF farmers in Andhra Pradesh have eliminated the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Instead they use low-cost locally-sourced natural concoctions, inoculums and decoctions based on cow dung, cow urine, jaggery, lilac, green chillies and many other such natural ingredients, said the release.