The Largest Agroecology Program on Earth – the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming Movement
1 million farmers are rapidly transitioning across 500,000 hectares in Andhra Pradesh, India. Their website is https://apcnf.in/. This is so awesome, learn more in this 10 min video.
The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming movement is now up to 1 million farmers and the whole state may go to Natural Farming officially by 2030. Vijay Kumar is doing exemplary work (aided by some outside experts like Walter Jehne in Australia and Did Pershouse from the US). They have developed a type of natural farming with green cover on the soil 365 days a year and they are getting good yields in drought years where neighboring conventional farmers are getting no yields. Their Natural Farming is clearly out-producing conventional ag, building soil and cooling the local climate.
We are pleased to announce that Vijay Kumar, Walter Jehne and Did Pershouse have all agreed to be part of the 2025 Global Earth Repair Convergence & Festival.
[The following part of this article is by Cindy Eiritz of Regenerate Earth, of which Walter Jehne is a part.]. https://regenerate-earth.org/
The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming | APCNF initiative pioneers techniques related to Soil Health Management, Seed Treatment, Pest Management, Crop Diversity, Poly-cropping and Water Management. These regenerate degraded arid soils. A particular practice of note is 365-day green cover. This practice involves maintaining continuous vegetation on farmland, either through cover crops, intercropping, or perennial plants. Plants grown include rice,millets, pulses, legumes, fruits, vegetables, spices, oilseeds, fodder crops, cover crops and agroforestry.
APCNF evolved from India’s Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) movement (founded early 2000s) and the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture program (founded in 2004). It represents a paradigm shift in agriculture, emphasizing the restoration of ecological balance to improve farmers’ livelihoods, and demonstrates how community-driven approaches can lead to widespread adoption of regenerative practices.
The APCNP initiative is being implemented by Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS) (Farmer Empowerment Organisation). Their expansion is largely attributed to the active participation of the state’s extensive network of Women’s Self-Help Groups (WSHGs), who have formed the backbone central to the program’s success. These groups facilitate community engagement and knowledge dissemination through farmer-to-farmer learning. Their collective action enables rapid adoption of the farming practices.
This World Soil Day we would like to celebrate the achievements of our dear friends RySS, APCNF and WSHGs. Our Walter Jehne has been honored to be journeying with you for the past 6 years of your 8 years impacting lives. It is so exciting that you are now recognised globally as a replicable and scalable model. And that you are on track with your vision that your entire state of 6 million farmers can be transitioning by 2030.
Vital for Food Security and Nutrition, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, Livelihoods and Rural Development, Ecosystem Restoration, the initiative’s key objectives include:
- Enhancing soil health and fertility,
- Thus reducing dependency on chemical inputs and fossil fuels,
- While increasing biodiversity and ecosystem services,
- That improves farm and community productivity and resilience to climate change, and
- Thereby boosting farmers’ incomes and reducing indebtedness.
Learn more in the video – Climate Calming, Natural Farming – 365 Day Green Cover we were asked to produce
Presented by – Regenerate Earth 2024 Creative Producer – Stephen Curtain
If you are interested to begin a similar scale regenerative agriculture initiative in your part of the world please reach out to Rythu Sadhikara Samstha: About | LinkedIn
