Olympics. India overall: 1 Silver, 5 Bronze. We await ruling on Vinesh Phogat. Abhinav Bindra, India’s first individual Olympic Gold medalist, is awarded the Olympic Order.
Kamala Harris is gaining an edge. Trump talks ‘below the belt’. Can US voters endorse this?
Sadgati, Natwar Singh, 95. Foreign Service Civil servant turned External Affairs Minister.
Bangladesh. Turmoil persists. Protests are forcing resignations – Chief Justice, Central Bank Governor, Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor…. Hindus are protesting for protection and justice.
It appears we have moved from Galileo to Copernicus in Natural Farming science. The agenda has moved to applying, deploying the same, scaling it, and quickly. Earth’s soil is meant to be covered with green – multi-layered multi-crop – cover 24×7. As much longer as possible. Photosynthesis – plants convert sunlight, water and carbon et al into ‘food’. Soil-food web. Soil microbes make the nutrients bioavailable. Microbes do the job but most (more than 99%) microbes are not characterized yet. Microbes are fed by plants’ photosynthetic food. Root exudates. Fungal hyphae can go longer, as long as 25,000 km. Fungal hyphae, root exudates and bacteria glue together the soil particles, making it porous and permeable. This lets water absorption and augments, multiplies water holding capacity. This reduces water evaporation through plants. This also lets harvesting elements and items from atmosphere into soil. These include carbon, nitrogen, and probably water. Stomata, trichomes of leaves turn hygroscopic, for example, for this purpose. All plants fix nitrogen, not just the leguminous plants. Inputs are not really inputs, they are inoculants, catalysts, stimulants, and switchers of microbial activity. Nutrient absorption by plants is complex and microbe-mediated.
This appreciation leads to confirm the universal principle of natural farming: 365-day soil cover, multi-layered, diverse, multiple crops; dry-wet-live mulch – live crops; minimal tillage; indigenous seeds; trees, animals; bio-stimulants; agronomical, botanical plant- pest management; and no chemicals. This also seeks sowing not waiting for monsoon rains, relay sowing. An acre can meet a family’s needs.
NF tends to make crops perennial. Labour intensity hump is initial, and tapers down with time. NF reduces costs, does not compromise yields, increases returns; increases cropping intensity, land equivalent ratios; shows crop, pest, drought, flood, cyclone, and climate resilience; increases biodiversity; nutrient intensity, diversity in food; improves crop, and soil health; local temperatures decrease – NF, on scale, is a cost-effective quick solution to cooling the planet.
Discoveries are going on, with no final word yet. This body of science is growing. Hybrid science, modern with traditional. Evolving with increased and sensitive power of observations, interpretations of evidences. With faith in nature, mother earth, and the universe. Can we take it to more and more people, quicker and quicker? Non-negotiables, protocols, models, examples on mini-scale, and results.
NF Scaling, we are set to go, it appears. NF by default by 2040. India 2029: 3 Crore families, 1 Crore ha. AP 2029: 40 lakh families, 20 lakh ha.; Unfallowing; jobs, enterprises, local value-chains; communities taking charge; academy-university; champions across; extension within. Can we embed team(s), partner(s), culture(s), campaigns, models-tools, champion(s), fora for this? NSOs? 5WH?
Yes, we can. If we coexist, if we teamlive in flow. In N? prakrtibrndayaanayoga for 7L.
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