AP’s natural farming model wins global prize

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A unique natural farming method being practiced in Andhra Pradesh for over eight years has won global recognition. Nagendramma Nettem, a farmer from the drought-prone Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, Vijay Kumar, Executive Vice Chairman of Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, a State-government agency, has received the prestigious Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity award in Lisbon (Portugal) on Thursday.

The award recognises outstanding contributions to climate action and solutions that inspire hope and possibility.

For Nagendramma, a small farmer from Ghantapuram village, it is not a fancy idea to make a switch to natural farming. With a daughter suffering from vision deficiencies, she realised the importance of going natural, shunning chemical-based agriculture.

Once she saw the benefit (she earns more than 50 per cent of the average income of fellow farmers in the village), she never looked back. She even became an advocate for natural farming methods promoted by the State Government. She became a Champion Farmer Coach of the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) in 2019. Her mandate is to win over more farmers. In 2023, she became a Model Master Trainer, mentoring other trainers across the district. 

Vijay Kumar, a former bureaucrat who is leading the natural farming initiatives in the State, is in Lisbon to receive the award along with Nagedramma.  

“The APCNF supports small farmers to switch from chemically intensive agriculture to natural farming. It involves practices such as using organic residues and minimising tillage to improve soil health; and reintroducing indigenous seeds,” he said.

Run by RySS, APCNF covers over 10 lakh small farmers with an aggregate land of 5 lakh hectares in the State. 

The APCNF shares a cash prize of  €1 million prize with eminent soil scientist Rattan Lal (US/India); and SEKEM (Egypt). The cash prize helps them continue and scale their work for more secure and sustainable food systems.  

The three were selected from 181 nominations with nominees from 117 nationalities, vying for the award. The award was instituted by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, a philanthropic institution that promotes quality of life for everyone through art, charity, science and education.