ABSTRACT
Sustainable Yogic Agriculture (SYA) is an emergent farming system that combines both physical and metaphysical practices. SYA is based on the philosophy that ‘as the food, so the mind and as the mind, so the body’. This paper provides an overview of SYA and its meditation-based and physical methods and possible effects and then discusses its potential for uptake, taking into consideration the research evidence on the mind–matter relationship. The methodology comprises a review of the existing published literature on SYA methods in conjunction with a farm case study and a group interview that was conducted with SYA farmers in India in 2017. Results indicate positive effects of using SYA, not only on farm performance but also on social dimensions. The small amount of SYA research trials undertaken to date indicate causality but lack robustness. Given that the core SYA technique is simple and of low cost, it may be particularly appropriate for organic and agroecological smallholder farmers worldwide, and further research is recommended.
