RySS bags Marico India Innovation award

Vijayawada (NTR district): The Andhra Pradesh State-owned Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS) has bagged Marico's 'Biennial Innovation for India-2023' award under the social category for promoting and scaling disruptive innovations in natural farming (NF) making a valuable impact on society.

Executive Vice-Chairman Vijay Kumar Thallam on behalf of RySS received the award, which was presented in a colourful ceremony in Mumbai on Wednesday, according to a communiqué from RySS here on Thursday.  The award was instituted by the Marico Innovation Foundation, a subsidiary of Marico Company founded by Harsh Mariwala.

Natural Farming introduced disruptive '365 days of green cover' where farmers plant a variety of 30 crops such as legumes, pulses, vegetables and oil seeds. Each of these seed varieties is carefully selected to enhance soil fertility, improve water moisture and bring much-needed microbes into soils.

Most importantly these methods brought additional incomes for farmers from semi-arid, rain-fed lands. The programme has geared up to cover all the GPs in AP in the next five years and take 50 lakh farm families (80 percent farmers of AP) into NF by 2030-31. Former IAS officer Vijaykumar Thallam has been recently appointed as the member of the Advisory Committee for the Promotion of Natural Farming (ACPNF) by MoAFW (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare).

ACPNF, recognised for extension efforts and numerous national, international collaborations and studies, is funded by Centrally-sponsored schemes RKVY, PKVY, and BPKP and loans from KfW development bank, Germany.

The Natural Farming vision, over a longitudinal span, is aimed at rethinking governments' approach in designing, and funding large irrigation projects for agriculture, energy subsidies, and most importantly, investments in public health, in the area of preventive health care. Natural farming systems are aimed at ensuring a more self-reliant and non-dependent food system, with minimal use of resources and maximisation of incomes.