What is nurture.farm?
- nurture.farm is a free, open-source digital platform for global sustainable agriculture.
- Their goal is to make agriculture simple, profitable, and sustainable for future generations.
- They provide comprehensive, integrated solutions that ensure long-term success. Its ecosystem spans the food system, increasing choice and making access transparent, affordable, and quick for everyone.
- They are rethinking sustainability as part of the UPL Group’s OpenAgTM network, which brings together all of the different participants in the food system – from farmers to food producers to consumers – in the spirit of collaboration to revolutionize how the entire sector thinks, works, and evolves.
New Sustainable Agriculture Measure
To provide PUSA decomposer spray services to halt stubble burning practices in Punjab and Haryana, nurture.farm announced a scheme to replace matchsticks with spray services for the PUSA decomposer, a bio-enzyme produced by the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI). It decomposes the stubble and turns it into manure within 20-25 days of spraying, enhancing the soil quality even more. Over 5,00,000 acres have been signed up for this program, and over 25,000 farmers have been on boarded to get this sustainable agriculture method at no cost.
Farmers, citizens, and policymakers alike will be relieved by this. Every year, the intentional burning of 5.7 million acres of rice paddy stubble contributes to the pollution of the air, rendering it unbreathable for residents of adjacent cities. The soil quality is impacted by stubble burning, which kills nutrients and bacteria, as well as any other flora and fauna that comes into contact with the fire. However, the farmers are forced to burn the crops due to a lack of other viable options, as burning is cheaper, faster, and clears the field in time for the next cropping cycle.
The Highlights
- The initiative’s hallmark is that it assures a win-win situation for all parties concerned.
- For farmers, stubble decomposition results in increased organic carbon and soil health, as well as significant fertilizer cost savings for the following cropping cycle.
- As a sustainable agriculture technique, the project ensures a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as well as pollutants and soot released into the atmosphere.
- When used consistently, it improves the soil’s nutritional health and microbial activity, resulting in higher yields with lower input costs for farmers and organic produce for consumers.
- In the next three years, nurture.farm intends to expand its activities to eliminate stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana.