Masanobu Fukuoka

(February 2, 1913 – August 16, 2008)

Masanobu Fukuoka, the pioneer of "natural" farming died at his home in lyo on 16th August 2008. He is a soil scientist in Japan and he is specialized in Plant Pathology. He trained as a microbiologist in Japan.

When he started working at the age 25, he had doubt on the wisdom of modern agriculture science. He quit the job and returnted to his farm on the island of Shikoku to grow organic mikans. He devoted his whole life to develop the small scale organic farm system where there is no requirement of weeding, pesticide or fertilizer or tilling. His system is called "Natural farming" and he is the author of "The One-Straw Revolution".

The "One-Straw Revolution" has been translated into English, Korean, Thai and several other languages including Tamil and he received Deshikottam award from India.