Fukuoka Masanobu-Natural Farming

Masanobu Fukuoka (Japanese: 福岡 正信, 2 February 1913 – 16 August 2008) was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, no-herbicide grain cultivation farming methods traditional to many indigenous cultures from which he created a particular method of farming, commonly referred to as “natural farming“ or “do-nothing farming“. His influences went beyond farming to inspire individuals within the natural food and lifestyle movements. He was an outspoken advocate of the value of observing nature’s principles. Fukuoka called his agricultural philosophy shizen nōhō (自然農法), most commonly translated into English as “natural farming“. It is also referred to as “the Fukuoka Method“, “the natural way of farming“ or “Do-Nothing Farming“. Fukuoka re-invented and advanced the use