"Nature Farming" was established in 1936 by Mokichi Okada, the founder of the Church of World Messianity, an agricultural system originally called "no fertilizer farming" (自然農法, shizen nōhō).[1]
Offshoots such as the Sekai Kyusei Kyo, promoting ‘Kyusei nature farming’, and the Mokichi Okada Association formed after his death to continue promoting the work in Japan and South-East Asia.[2]
ZZ2, a farming conglomerate in South Africa has translated the term to Afrikaans, "Natuurboerdery".[3]
According to the International Nature Farming Research Center in Nagano, Japan,[4] it is based on the theories that:
- Fertilizers pollute the soil and weaken its power of production.
- Pests would break out from the excessive use of fertilizers
- The difference in disease incidence between resistant and susceptible plants is attributed to nutritional conditions inside the body.
- Vegetables and fruits produced by nature farming taste better than those by chemical farming.
The term is sometimes used for an alternative farming philosophy of Masanobu Fukuoka.
Natural Farming[edit]
Another Japanese farmer and philosopher, Masanobu Fukuoka, conceived of an alternative farming system in the 1930s separately from Okada and used the same Japanese characters to describe it.[5] This is generally translated in English as "Natural Farming" although agriculture researcher Hu-lian Xu claims that "nature farming" is the correct literal translation of the Japanese term.[5]
See also[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
- 自然農法解說 / Shizen nōhō kaisetsu by Mokichi Okada. Publisher: 榮光社出版部 Eikōsha Shuppanbu, Tōkyō 1951.
References[edit]
- ^ Sustainable Agriculture: Definition and Terms. Special Reference Briefs Series no. SRB 99-02, September 1999. Compiled by: Mary V. Gold, Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- ^ Setboonsarng, S. and Gilman, J. 1999. Alternative Agriculture in Thailand and Japan. HORIZON Communications, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
- ^ Silent, Taurayi (March 2011). An investigation of natuurboerdery (natural farming) approach : a ZZ2 case study (Thesis). Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch.
- ^ Scientific Proof of Mokichi Okada's Nature Farming Theories by Xu, Hui-lian. Agricultural Experiment Station, International Nature Farming Research Center, Nagano
- ^ a b Xu, Hui-Lian (2001). NATURE FARMING In Japan (Monograph). T. C. 37/661(2), Fort Post Office, Trivandrum - 695023, Kerala, India.: Research Signpost. ISBN 81-308-0111-6.
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