Understanding the farm economics of farmers under different stages of transition from conventional farming toward agroecological farming in Madhya Pradesh

A comprehensive baseline survey of 1776 farmers were conducted as part a program to scale up natural farming practices to over 50000 farmers across 11 Agroecological zones in Madhya Pradesh to understand various parameters of interest like quantum of inputs, cost of cultivation, fertiliser subsidy, yield, income and impact of organic inputs on normalised yield among farmers in different stages of transition from chemical farming to agroecology-based farming. The key findings from the study are the limited usage of organic inputs especially in organic farms, the subsidy offered to chemical farms through fertilisers subsidy, and the impact of organic inputs on normalised yield. The study indicates that though standardisation is not the approach adopted in natural farming, there is a need for standards with respect to basic composition of input, quantum of inputs, etc. It is essential to identify the front runners among farmers, document and analyse their practices to derive and offer standards for others. In order to make strides towards scaling up of Agroecological farming, there is a need for more research and data on natural farming practices and outputs.