The One-Straw Revolution - Multiworld India

structure is broken down, earthworms and other small animals aredestroyed, and the earth becomes hard and lifeless. Once this happens,the field must be turned every year.But if a method is adopted in which the earth cultivates itselfnaturally, there is no need for a plow or cultivating machine. After theliving soil is burned clean of organic matter and microorganisms, the useof fast-acting fertilizers becomes necessary. If chemical fertilizer is usedthe rice grows fast and tall, but so do the weeds. Herbicides are thenapplied and thought to be beneficial.But if clover is sown with the grain, and all the straw and organicresidues are returned to the surface of the field as mulch, crops can begrown without herbicides, chemical fertilizer or prepared compost.In farming there is little that cannot be eliminated. Preparedfertilizer, herbicide, insecticide, machinery all are unnecessary. But if acondition is created in which they become necessary, then the power ofscience is required.I have demonstrated in my fields that natural farming producesharvests comparable to those of modern scientific agriculture. If theresults of a non-active agriculture are comparable to those of science, at afraction of the investment in labor and resources, then where is thebenefit of scientific technology?168