102 Quotes by Masanobu Fukuoka

My ultimate dream is to sow seeds in the desert. To revegetate the deserts is to sow seed in people’s hearts.

We must find our way back to true nature. We must set ourselves to the task of revitalizing the earth. Regreening the earth, sowing seeds in the desert – that is the path society must follow.

We have come to the point at which there is no other way than to bring about a ‘movement’ not to bring anything about.

I wonder how it is that people’s philosophies have come to spin faster than the changing seasons.

Natural farming is just farming, nothing more. You don’t have to be a spiritually oriented person to practice my methods.

I believe that even ‘returning-to-nature’ and anti pollution activities, no matter how commendable, are not moving toward a genuine solution if they are carried out solely in reaction to the over development of the present age.

Although natural farming – since it can teach people to cultivate a deep understanding of nature – may lead to spiritual insight, it’s not strictly a spiritual practice.

If a farmer does abandon his or her “tame” fields completely to nature, mistakes and destruction are inevitable.

If nature is left to itself, fertility increases. Organic remains of plants and animals accumulate and are decomposed on the surface by bacteria and fungi. With the movement of rainwater, the nutrients are taken deep into the soil to become food for microorganisms, earthworms, and other small animals. Plant roots reach to the lower soil strata and draw the nutrients back up to the surface.