Minister for HRD Nara Lokesh reiterated the State government’s resolve to cut down on chemical fertilizers and urged the farmers to adopt organic farming practices, stating that Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) remains the core vision of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.During a visit to an integrated natural farming estate at Penikalapadu village of Muddanur mandal in Jammalamadugu constituency, Mr. Lokesh interacted with a progressive farmer, Munagala Dwarakanatha Reddy, in a bid to understand how he was pursuing the sustainable practices.Along with his brother Ramana Reddy, the farmer has been practising natural farming for the past five years in the 17 acres of their joint family land by integrating diverse fruit crops, animal husbandry, poultry, and aquaculture, thus creating a self-sustainable ecosystem that generates a reliable monthly income.The crops include mango, sweet lime, amla, coconut, lemon, jamun, guava, drumstick, custard apple, besides a poultry farm and a fish pond.Mr. Dwarakanatha Reddy said his family prepared natural manure and 32 varieties of biodiversity seed mix directly in their farm, thus obviating the need to depend on chemical fertilisers or pesticides.While keeping 250 country chicken naturally controlled weeds and pests, which further eliminated labour-intensive de-weeding and pest control, he highlighted that a single indigenous cow provided enough manure to maintain 20 acres of farm under natural conditions. The family currently earns between ₹3 lakh and ₹3.50 lakh every year from mango harvest alone.Congratulating the family on its success, Mr. Lokesh observed that the excessive use of chemical inputs had severely impacted the fertility of the soil across the State and caused debt burden on the farmers. He appealed to fellow farmers to replicate the example available right in their backyard. Published - May 22, 2026 08:26 pm IST