SWOT analysis of NF

Strengths

• Providing wonderful solutions to the challenges of present agriculture in the state
• Potential to contribute to the global effort to overcome the challenges of climate change
• Improving profitability in agriculture
•  Improving farmers’ health
• Reducing farmers’ stress

Opportunities

• Growing demand for chemical free food
•  International support for the mitigation and adaption of the climate change

Weakness

• Not able to reach the needy
• Not able to command the commensurate prices
• Less awareness and inadequate extension services
• Non-availability of readymade biological inputs at the time of requirement.
•  No improvement in biological inputs formulations

Threats

• The programme is going against the powerful mainstream industries, institutions and policies

Objectives of  NF

• Ensuring food security and producing more with less resources.
• For building the resilience of smallholder farmers for creating a food-secure future.
• NF is the right solution to fight climate change and create resilient food systems.
• Fighting drought is one of the main objectives of NF.
• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN advocates environmentally-friendly farming methods that can take us to a more sustainable future.
• Importance for chemical free food consumption is growing rapidly.
• Chemical farming has made food a poison and also has reduced the yield by making lands barren.
• Farmers’ welfare and sustainable practices are vital for a sustainable and productive economy.
• NF constitutes an effective strategy for achieving SDGs targets.

Features of NF

• It is a farming practice that believes in natural growth of crops without adding any chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
• The four wheels of NF are Bijamrut, Jivamrut, Mulching and Waaphasa.
• Bijamrut is a natural way of seed treatment using local cow urine and cow dung.
• Jvamrut is made using water, local cow dung, local cow urine, jaggery, dal flour and soil.
• Waaphasa is the aeration in the soil.
• NF is different from organic farming.
• Intercropping is an important feature of NF.
• Practicing composting on the farm itself, so that soil organic matter increases.
• Storing water in the farm ponds for use in adverse conditions.
• Insects and pests are managed using neem leaves, neem pulp and green chillies.
• Establishing farmers’ federations and self-help groups, and placing farmers at the forefront of knowledge creation and dissemination.

Advantages

• Besides reduced input cost, farmers practicing NF gets higher yields.
• Elimination of chemical pesticides and promotion of good agronomic practices.
• Promote regenerative agriculture, improve soil biodiversity and productivity.
• Ensure decent livelihoods to smallholder farmers.
• Restore ecosystem health through diverse, multi-layered cropping systems.
• Anyone who is having half an acre of land can start NF.
• Using NF techniques, one can convert even the most infertile land into a fertile one.
• Women’s empowerment and nutrition.