A major paper led by Iris Berger, a PhD student in our Agroecology Group, co-authored by group leader Prof Lynn Dicks, is published in Nature Ecology and Evolution today.

The paper, entitled, "India's agroecology programme, 'Zero Budget Natural Farming'”, analyses one of the world’s biggest agroecological transitions; the shift to government-incentivised 'Zero Budget Natural Farming' (ZBNF) in Andhra Pradesh, India. 

The paper’s message is that ZBNF, more than doubles farmer profits, does not reduce food production relative to chemical farming, and ZBNF farms support more wild birds, especially groups providing pest control benefits like insectivores. So, at least in rice-dominated small farms in south India, ZBNF is a 'win-win' solution.

Importantly, the paper also shows that the agroecological farmland is no substitute for natural forest in the same landscape, in terms of bird conservation.