Andhra Pradesh Community Farming Programme Wins 1.5 Million Dollar Food Prize

Andhra Pradesh's Community Managed Natural Farming programme has won the 2026 Food Planet Prize, awarded by Sweden's Curt Bergfors Foundation and worth $1.5 million, recognising its work with 1.8 million farming families and 340,000 women's self-help groups. The award was presented in Båstad, Sweden on June 2, 2026.

The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) programme operates at a scale that makes it among the largest natural farming programmes in the world. Working with 1.8 million farming families and mobilised through a network of 340,000 women's self-help groups, the programme has helped reduce farmers' dependence on synthetic fertilisers and pesticides while improving soil health and building climate resilience across the state's diverse agro-climatic zones.

The programme's significance extends beyond Andhra Pradesh. The APCNF model is now being adapted across 22 Indian states, with implementation also beginning in Sri Lanka and Zambia. It demonstrates that large-scale natural farming transitions can improve farmer incomes while reducing input costs, providing a commercially viable alternative to chemical-intensive agriculture. The Food Planet Prize jury cited the model's replicability and community-centred governance structure as distinguishing features.

The prize award is expected to raise the visibility of natural farming and agroecological approaches in India's agricultural policy debates. The government of India has been expanding the Pradhan Mantri Pratyek Gaon Kudrati Kheti initiative for natural farming promotion, and the APCNF's international recognition provides political momentum for scaling such programmes. For climate and food system advocates, the award highlights community-led agroecology as a convergent solution to food security, soil carbon sequestration and farmer livelihood challenges.

Key figure — $1.5 million Food Planet Prize, 1.8 million farming families