Andhra Pradesh - APCNF (Andhra Pradesh Community-managed Natural Farming)

Andhra Pradesh Community-managed Natural Farming (APCNF) is a government-led training programme in Natural Farming approaches that aims to reach all 6 million farmers in the state, over an area of 8 million hectares, by 2031. APCNF seeks to embed Natural Farming approaches in farming communities in the long term, in contrast to short-term fiscal policies that came before, such as subsidies and cast transfers. APCNF builds the capacity of farmers by disseminating training and knowledge on Natural Farming, working with local women’s groups, and fostering leadership among best-practising farmers, so that farming communities can sustain the practices in the long term.

• A non-governmental entity, RySS (Rythu Sadhikara Samstha - ‘Farmers’ Empowerment Organisation’), recruits trainers and deploys them to villages throughout the state. These trainers use a combination of farmer field schools, demonstration plots and video case studies, to train farmers in Natural Farming methods.

• Best-practising farmers within villages also train other farmers and take on leadership roles.

• Women's self-help groups deal with financial aspects and programme management.

• A fellowship scheme brings in agriculture graduates to carry out such roles as data collection, environmental assessments, and marketing.

• Civil society organisations are also involved, providing expertise in areas such as marketing and certification, integrated farming systems, and tribal areas.

^ Source - Ellen MacArthur Foundation

APCNF website here.