FARMING | FOOD PRODUCTION

A Return to Natural Farming

A community-managed natural farming programme has been awarded the Food Planet Prize, 2026

Photo by Claudia Fernández Ortiz on Unsplash

Is chemical-free agriculture possible?

A State in India has proved that it is.

The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) has been awarded the world’s largest environmental award.

The Food Planet Prize 2026 has been awarded to APCNF for leading a transition to agroecology. The prize, worth $1.5 million was presented in Båstad, Sweden, on June 2.

Initiated by the Curt Bergfors Foundation in Sweden, the jury that decided on the finalist applauds the APCNF for its climate-resilient agricultural practices, and its reduced dependence on synthetic inputs.

Launched by the government of Andhra Pradesh a decade ago, the APCNF works through a two-pronged approach to farming: collectives run and managed entirely by women and a network of 10,000 trainer farmers. These trainer farmers help ‘smallholders’ give up synthetic, artificial and chemical inputs in favour of natural farming practices built on traditional farming practices and soil science.

In ten years this benevolent army of people have created a system that improves soil health, decreases emissions, and provides rural employment.

Awarding the Food Planet Prize 2026 Grand Prize to Andhra Pradesh Community-Managed Natural Farming (APCNF), Professor Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, co-chair of the Food Planet Prize jury commented that the organisation has shown that agriculture can succeed by working with nature, than against it.

The programme was launched in 2016, by Rythu Sadhikara Samstha. The primary aim of the scheme was to help farmers transition to natural farming. From its inception, it has now grown into one of the world’s largest community-led agroecology movements.

At a time when companies managed by millionaires are talking about creating vegetables and fruits without seeds, so that seeds cannot be replanted, this return to nature is particularly significant.

This wonderful initiative proves beyond a doubt that returning to nature and natural farming is a possibility. It proves that the much-vilified government and authorities can be a positive force, working with the community to better the lots of people.

It shows me that little drops of water do make a mighty ocean, with the right direction, when there’s a will to work together.

ⓒ 2026 Suma Narayan. All Rights Reserved.