RySS gets Rs 1 cr from Gulbenkian Foundation

Vijayawada: Rythu Sadhikara Samstha has received Rs one crore, a third of the total prize money of Rs three crore from Portugal-based Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (CGF). Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed RySS to use the funds to promote natural farming on a global scale.

AP community-managed Natural Farming (APCNF) and the Government of Andhra Pradesh, have jointly won the €1 million (Rs 9 crore) prize along with Dr Rattan Lal (noted soil scientist from the USA) and SEKEM (Egyptian network enabling farmers to work on biodynamic farming).

The APCNF model has attracted global attention because it offers increased yields, zero economic losses and improved health benefits for farmers within the first season of transition.

The USP of the APCNF model is that it is a scalable, do-it-yourself (DIY), low-cost solution and can be easily replicated by smallholder farmers across different geographies and contexts.

APCNF is currently supporting Sri Lanka and Zambia in the transition to natural farming. In the coming year, the APCNF model and approach will be taken to Mexico, Rwanda, Malawi, Kenya, Egypt and UAE (Sharjah) in collaboration with farmer organisations, civil society and national agricultural research institutions.

Special Chief Secretary (Agriculture) B Rajsekhar said that natural farming is scientifically based and has the potential to improve planetary health.

Executive vice-chairman of RySS Vijay Kumar Thallam stated that delegations from 45 countries have visited the APCNF programme areas over the past three years.

The Rythu Sadhikara Samstha intends to allocate the Gulbenkian prize money towards farmer exposure visits, training, implementing the breakthrough pre-monsoon dry sowing technology developed by APCNF and sharing knowledge on natural farming models tailored to specific local agro-climatic conditions of the host countries.