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India has experienced many economical evils especially in agriculture such as drought, famines etc. All these make dent on destitution, starvation etc. Now India is the second largest productive food country in the world. Not merely India become a self-sufficient food grains, India is also can export marginal agriculture product particularly after initiation of a new strategy in agriculture i.e. green revolution.

Agriculture peasants lost their agricultural economic power of agricultural labor due to some short of adverse effect on agriculture labor, like privatized seeds, privatized inputs and inaccessibility credit, overwhelmingly corporate controlled farming. The agriculture economic power slips from hands of peasants to corporate body. Indian agriculture system transforming towards conventional farming to organic natural farming, not even Indian agrarian society most of the developing and developed economies approximately more than 154 countries switching from conventional to organic natural farming.
Need for the Study
Natural farming is certainly much superiority than conventional farming. Simply we can say less expansive, it saves energy, conservation of bio diversity, fewer residues in food and many others. Hence, a comprehensive study dealing with the economics of organic farming and conventional farming covering different agro-climatic conditions is felt necessary. As such, the present Study addresses itself to fill in this gap by examining the Economics of Natural Farming vis-à-vis Conventional Farming in A.P.
Zero Budget Natural Farming
The zero-budget natural farming is unique farming method i.e. popularly known as Subash Palekar’s Zero Budget Natural Farming. This method of farming does not require high monetary investment for purchase of agriculture inputs like seeds, fertilizers and pesticides for plant protection from the market. The farmer can easily grow the local varieties of crops without using conventional farm techniques. Hence the ZBNF does not require much institutional credit and it minimizes the dependence on hired labor (Yogendhra babu, 2008). This method of farming requires in native breed of cattle. Some of ZBNF organization believes that one cow is enough to cultivate this method of farming on the thirty acres of land (Priscilla Jebraraj, 2019 July 28, what is Zero Budget Natural Farming? The Hindu).
The main characteristic features of ZBNF
Subhash Palekar advocated that four wheels of farm techniques of ZBNF. The basic aim of this system is to avoid monetary expenditure like purchases of seeds, synthetic fertilizer and plant protection chemicals in the market. The farmer can use his own seeds or he can barrow from other farmers. The whole philosophy of ZBNF is to make the farmer self-reliant and to get out from the exploitative, commercialized private agriculture inputs and caught in the clutches of money lenders.

1. Beejamrutha: the term Beejamrutha is mixture that is used to seed treatment. The Beejamrutha composition of a) water (20 litres), b) Desi cow dung (5 kg), c) Desi cow urine (5 litress), d) One handful of soil from the surface of field, e) Lime (50gm). The Beejamrutha aim to preserves the crop from harmful soil borne and seed borne pathogens during the beginning stage of germination and establishment (FAO and La Via Campesina, 2016, Zero Budget Natural Farming in India).
2. Jeevamrutha: this is mixture of six components, a) water (200 litre), b) Desi cow dung (10 kg), c) Desi cow urine (5 to 10 litre), d) Jaggery (2 kg), e) Flour of any pulse (2 kg), f) Handful of soil from farm field or forest. The Jeemrutha is used to promote immense biological activity in soil and makes nutrients available to the crop. (FAO & La Via Campesina, 2016, Zero Budget Natural Farming in India).
3. Mulching: as Palekar suggests there are three types of mulching they are a) soil mulching b) straw mulching c) live mulching. a) Soil mulching: Soil mulching protects the top soil during cultivation and it enriches the aeration and water retention in the soil. b) Straw mulching: it can be composed of the dead material of nay living being (plants, animals etc) c) live mulching: according to Palekar, it is essential to develop multiple cropping patterns of monocotyledons and dicotyledons (FAO & La Via Campesina, 2016, Zero Budget Natural Farming in India).
4. Whapasa: according to Palaekar, what root need is water vapour. Whapasa is the condition where there both air molecules and water molecules (FAO & La Via Campesina, 2016, Zero Budget Natural Farming in India). 
5. Plant protection: the farmer can himself prepare homemade pesticides and use it on the crops from insects and diseases. Fungicides and insecticides can prepare by the farmer himself and used either as prophylactic or as curative measure for control of crop pests (Yogendhra babu, 2008).

The above techniques are Jivamrita, Bijamrita, and Acchadana (natural mulch) which enriches the microbial activity, seed health and protection of soil respectively.
Objectives of the study
In recent years, it is moving towards “Natural farming” with growing consciousness on health and environment damages. It is not viable yet. In this backdrop, the study seeks to address economic viability of organic and natural farming and its affordability empirically, to examine the status and trends of ZBNF in Andhra Pradesh. to assess and analyze the economic feasibility and economic efficiency of zero budget natural farming.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The methodology of the study involves frequent visit to farm field where Zero Budget Natural Farming has been practicing, regular interaction with the APZBNF officials, field observers, trainers. Interactions with farmers to gather information of adoption of natural farming method crop cultivation, economies of cultivation and returns. Necessary information taken from field agency and APZBNF, Experts, trainees, ZBNF coordinators shared their experience. The study is completely empirical in nature and emphasizes on frequent visit and regular observation in the farm field. The primary and secondary data collected from various sources to find out the above objectives. The primary data drown from the respondent in deferent natural farming field. The Secondary data was taken from the Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, Government of Andhra Pradesh. The conclusions drown based on the data and shown meaningful inferences based personal experience and observation over a period of time in the field of natural farming. 
ZBNF Status in Andhra Pradesh
The ZBNF is a counter-hegemonic movement in the agrarian society. Now the ZBNF became institutionalized and state led agro ecology, training, women led social organization, employing youth. We can observe the initial movement in Karnataka and gradually extend in other states of India, especially southern India. As on today states governments are showing their interest toward ZBNF. the six different states of India progressively practicing ZBNF Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarkhand, Kerala, Karnataka. The Ministry of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech urged to ZBNF, government will promote ZBNF to doubling farmer’s income and reduce the cost of production in time for on 75th year of independence. As per government record this program being implemented in 131 covering 704 villages, under RKVY and 1300 clusters covered 268 villages under PKVY. Nearly 1,63,034 farmers are practicing ZBNF in India (Economic Survey 2018-19, volume 2).

The government of Andhra Pradesh is attempted to initiation of ZBNF across the state through comprehensive policies on a large scale. This program was started in the September 2015 and the field implementation in kharif season 2016. As of 2018 this program has achieved 160,000 farmers are practicing ZBNF in around 972 villages across the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh in 63000 hectors out of 274.40 lack hectors of farm land. The ZBNF was program institutionalized and implemented by agriculture department of Andhra Pradesh, and funded from RKVY, PKVY and Government of India, monitored by the Rythu Sadhikaraka Samstha. The Government of Andhra Pradesh extensional model is based on the group approaches though Self Help Group and special emphasis on landless labor and women farmers. This program implementation process commenced during the year 2016-17 in 704 villages, 131 clusters, in 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh (Socio Economic Survey 2018-19, Government of Andhra Pradesh).

Table 1: The number of villages covered under ZBNF

During the year 2016-17 the no. of villages covered under the ZBNF 704 villages and slightly decreases during the year 2017-18 no. of villages covered under ZBNF  just 268 and during the year 2018-19 increases  approximately 1000 villages covered under the ZBNF. The results are outreached 40656 farmers during the year 2016-17 and 138993 farmers in the year 2017-18.

Table 2: Status of ZBNF by District as on 31-03-18