Andhra Pradesh natural farming movement wins global recognition in Sweden

Vijayawada: At a time when weather experts are warning of the possible impact of El Niño on agriculture and global uncertainties are raising concerns over the availability and cost of fertilisers and agrochemicals, Andhra Pradesh’s natural farming movement has earned international recognition on one of the world’s biggest stages.The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) programme has won the prestigious 2026 Food Planet Prize, an international award that recognises initiatives capable of transforming global food systems while reducing environmental impact. The award, presented by the Curt Bergfors Foundation in Båstad, Sweden, carries a prize amount of $1.5 million (around ₹14 crore).The Curt Bergfors Foundation announced APCNF as the winner out of four finalists. The other shortlisted organisations — Conscious Kitchen (United States), NoPalm Ingredients (Netherlands), and Savanna Institute (United States) — received recognition grants of $1.5 lakh each.The recognition marks a significant milestone for a state that was once among the country’s largest consumers of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Today, nearly 18 lakh farmers across Andhra Pradesh have adopted natural farming practices, making it one of the largest agroecological transitions in the world.The movement traces its roots to 2016 when Andhra Pradesh govt launched the natural farming initiative through Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS). Established as a state-supported organisation to promote sustainable agriculture, RySS works with women’s self-help groups, village-level community resource persons, and farmer trainers. Over the past decade, it has built a vast grassroots network spanning more than 8,000 villages and involving over 10,000 trained community resource persons, many of them women.Representing Andhra Pradesh at the award ceremony were special chief secretary (agriculture) B Rajasekhar and RySS executive vice-chairman T Vijay Kumar. The Curt Bergfors Foundation selected APCNF, citing its success in helping small and marginal farmers reduce dependence on synthetic fertilisers and pesticides while improving resilience to climate-related challenges.Agriculture minister K Atchannaidu congratulated the farmers, women’s self-help groups, community resource persons, RySS, and the agriculture dept for securing the international honour. He noted that the model is now being studied and replicated in several Indian states as well as countries such as Zambia and Sri Lanka.Officials said the prize money will be used to establish additional demonstration sites, strengthen research collaborations, develop implementation toolkits, support farmer-led research, and expand training programmes. With global attention now focused on Andhra Pradesh’s experiment in natural farming, the state’s agricultural model has emerged as a subject of interest far beyond India’s borders.