Andhra Pradesh’s natural farming model wins Gulbenkian Prize

Current Context : Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF), has won the 2024 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity.

ABOUT PRIZE :

• Award instituted by Portugal-based Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (CGF).
• It is presented annually to individuals and organisations contributing to global food security, climate resilience and ecosystem protection.
• The total prize money is one million euros.

ABOUT ANDHRA PRADESH COMMUNITY MANAGED NATURAL FARMING (APCNF) :

• The APCNF is a Statewide programme supporting smallholder farmers to switch from chemically intensive agriculture to ‘natural farming’.
• Practices such as using organic residues and minimising tillage to improve soil health, reintroducing indigenous seeds and diversifying crops, including trees.
• Launched in 2016 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
• Andhra Pradesh is also supporting 12 other States in the country and this year (2024-25) the State plans to send its farmers to five different countries to take this seeding of natural farming to farmers there.

ABOUT NATURAL FARMING

It is a traditional methods of biomass mulching, round-the-year green cover, and Indigenous cow-based dung and urine formulations.

Four pillars of natural farming in India are :

• Jivamrita (farm-produced microbial formulation for seed treatment)
• Ghanjivamrita (farm-produced microbial inoculant used for soil enrichment)
• Bijamrita ( use of local seeds and local varieties)
• Whapasa (Whapasa means a mixture of 50% air and 50% water vapour in the cavity between two soil particles)