Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday announced that the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) programme has been awarded the 2026 Food Planet Prize, calling it a 'proud first for India'. In a post on X, the chief minister credited the state's farmers, women's self-help groups and field teams for the recognition, which he described as the world's largest environmental award.

Context

Naidu wrote that APCNF had been recognised 'for leading one of the most ambitious transitions to agroecology ever undertaken'. He described the programme as 'a movement of 1.8 million farmers and the world's largest natural farming programme', and thanked the prize jury for the honour.

The chief minister also used the post to reiterate a long-term goal of making Andhra Pradesh a 100% natural farming state by 2047, framing it as a pathway to 'restoring our natural resources, rejuvenating our farmlands, strengthening farmers' well-being, and contributing to a healthier planet'.

Policy backdrop

APCNF traces its institutional roots to Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, a farmer-empowerment body set up by the Andhra Pradesh government in 2015 to coordinate agricultural support programmes, including early pilots in chemical-free farming. Over successive years, the initiative scaled from village-level demonstrations to a state-wide effort built around women's self-help groups who train and mentor fellow farmers in agroecological techniques.

The programme emphasises practices such as diverse cropping, soil-microbe revival through bio-inputs, and reduced reliance on synthetic fertilisers and pesticides — a model state officials have positioned as a response to rising input costs, soil degradation and climate stress.

Stakeholders and impact

The immediate beneficiaries are small and marginal farmers across Andhra Pradesh, particularly women cultivators who form the backbone of the community-managed structure. Naidu's post extended 'heartiest congratulations to our farmers, women's self-help groups, field teams, scientists, and everyone associated with this remarkable achievement'.

Beyond the farm gate, the recognition feeds into a broader conversation in Indian agriculture about whether community-led natural farming can be reconciled with productivity, market linkages and procurement systems traditionally built around input-intensive cultivation. Several states have experimented with organic and natural farming clusters, but Andhra Pradesh's effort stands out for its sheer scale and its explicit linkage to long-horizon state development targets.

What's next

Naidu signalled that the state intends to act as a knowledge hub for the practice, writing, 'We are committed to sharing our learnings and supporting the spread of natural farming across India and beyond.' That positioning could open space for inter-state partnerships and possible alignment with central programmes on sustainable and organic agriculture.

The chief minister also struck a forward-looking note: 'We will not stop here.' With the 2047 target now publicly reiterated on a global platform, attention will turn to implementation milestones — expansion of farmer enrolment, yield and income data from natural-farming plots, and the degree to which APCNF's community-managed template is adopted by other Indian states seeking to green their agricultural footprint.