AMARAVATHI, JANUARY 04, 2025: Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF), which has brought 10.37 lakh farmers into the fold of Natural Farming, is facilitating the launch of ORGANIC KUPPAM in Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s constituency.
Farmers in India face multiple challenges, including economic, environmental, and health issues. These are getting exacerbated on account of the climate emergency. The ORGANIC KUPPAM initiative is part of the CM’s vision of demonstrating how natural farming can provide a comprehensive solution for farmers’ livelihoods, the health and well-being of citizens and the planet’s health. The AP Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) programme of the Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, Dept of Agriculture, would expand Natural farming adoption in the Kuppam constituency to cover every village and every farmer and each plot of land. The initiative will also bring fallow lands back into productive agriculture.
Background of Kuppam Constituency
Kuppam comprises of 95 Gram Panchayats (GPs). The total cultivable land spans 1,15,055 acres, of which 62,888 acres are under cultivation as net sown area, leaving a significant 52,167 acres ( 45% area) as fallow land. The constituency comprises 60,031 landholdings, of which 95% are small and marginal farm families who own 78% of agricultural land. Additionally, 17,328 farmworker families, categorised as the poorest of the poor, depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
Organic Kuppam Vision (2025–2035)
Kuppam aims to become a model constituency, setting an example for the entire state and country. To achieve this, it has been decided to implement APCNF across all gram panchayats in the Kuppam Constituency and encourage all farmers in the region to transition to natural farming practices. In this regard, a vision document has been developed to guide the program. APCNF will strengthen ongoing Natural Farming adoption in Kuppam by engaging women’s self-help groups, building their capacities in natural farming, and strengthening traceability and certification of produce.
NF Vision and Mission
Vision: To universalize natural farming in the entire Kuppam constituency to cover all villages and all farmers.
Mission: To make agriculture profitable, sustainable and climate-resilient while ensuring safe food to everyone, improving soil health and conserving the water for generations to come. The aim is to bring 70% of farmers, 50% of the cultivable land, and 20% of fallow land of Kuppam Constituency into the NF transformational journey by 2028-29.
As part of the plan, it is proposed to expand natural farming adoption from 79 panchayats in 2024-25 to 95 (100%) by 2034-35. Similarly, the coverage of Village Organizations (VOs) has grown from 100 (50%) to 200 (100%), demonstrating complete integration across the targeted regions.
Natural Farming Goals
Income Enhancement of small and marginal farm families
- 100% saturation of GPs and VOs
- Natural Farming Pre-monsoon dry sowing (NF PMDS) as entry point activity and coverage of 80% of farm families in existing villages by 2028-29
- Promotion of crop diversification and 365 days of crop cover
- Promotion of High-value Farm jobs (with Level 1 and Level 2 farming models).
- Ensuring easy availability of Bio-inputs and input services at the farm level
- Certification, Traceability and Marketing
The key projections for the next 10 years include-
| Physical Expansion | 2024-25 | 2028-29 | 2034-35 |
| Partially Organic farmers [(NF + PMDS) (% of A.5)]* | 14,772 (31%) | 34,040 (72%) | 34,880 (74%) |
| Partially Organic Land Extent [(NF + PMDS) (% of A.6)] | 16,822 (27%) | 33,533 (53%) | 39,923 (63%) |
| Fully Organic Farmers [(100% S2S NF) (% of A.5)] | 3,841(8%) | 13,370 (28%) | 31,160 (66%) |
| Fully Organic Land Extent [(100% S2S NF) (% of A.6)] | 4,332 (7%) | 14,119 (22%) | 33,614 (53%) |
| Fallow Land Converted into Natural Farming (% of A.8) | 10,433 (20%) | 20,867 (40%) | |
| Total Land under Natural Farming (including converted fallow land) (A.3 + A.7) | 43,967 (34%) | 60,790(53%) | |
| Key Benefits | |||
| Rural Job Creation through high value farm models (Regular income of 10,000 -25,000/ month) | 13,500 | 37,000 | |
| Increase in annual income of partially organic farmers (NF + PMDS) compared to conventional farmers | INR 35,000 (26% ) | ||
| Increase in average annual income of fully organic farmers (100% S2S NF) (per farmer) compared to conventional farmers | INR 1,22,000 (83% ) | INR 1,39,000 (92%) | |
| Cultivable land with improved soil health (% ) | 34% | 53% | |
| Water savings (% water used) | 25% | 50% | |
| Farmers access to safe and diverse food leading to health improvement (% farmers) | 28% | 66% |
Key Outcomes
High-value jobs from farming – Models
The initiative focuses on High-Value Rural Job Creation through two farming models. The Level 1 Farming Model (A Grade + ATM) aims to create 6,000 jobs with the potential to scale up to 25,000 opportunities. It would provide an average monthly income of Rs. 15,000 – 25,000 to a farm family (1.0 to 2.0 acres of land) after 3 years of initiating the model. Similarly, the Level 2 Farming Model (ATM) is initially designed to generate 7,500 jobs, with an expansion target of 12,000 roles. A farmworker family (Poorest of poor) who owns 20 cents of land may earn a monthly income of Rs. 10,000-15,000 after 3 years of initiation.
Better Health
The focus is on promoting better food diversity and nutrition through key initiatives: raising awareness about improved food-plate diversity, ensuring access to nutritious food through a food basket approach, integrating Natural Farming (NF) produce into Anganwadis, schools, and hostels via nutri-gardens at schools and community levels, and establishing nutri-enterprises at appropriate levels. These efforts aim to enhance food security and nutritional health comprehensively.
Climate Resilience and Environmental Correction
The strategy focuses on creating awareness among SHGs and farm families about Natural Farming (NF) through IEC materials and community meetings, providing training via farmer-to-farmer extension and model makers, ensuring adherence to NF practices through CRP farm visits, and transforming Gram Panchayats into climate-resilient villages with active participation from local leaders like Sarpanches and Ward members.
Organic Certification & Industry Response
Rythu Sadhikara Samstha-APCNF has remarkably transitioned 3.18 lakh farmers who follow Natural Farming practices from seed to seed, avoiding synthetic chemical inputs during entire crop production. Around 1037000 farmers are being enrolled for the PGS India Organic Certification program in compliance with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare assessment standards. RySS has partnered with MARKFED and Tirumala Tirupati Devesthanams to procure and supply natural farming commodities that farmers produce under the APCNF-RySS initiative
India’s leading organic players and companies have come forward to partner with RySS. These organisations have been invited to interact with the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and to sign and exchange MoUs with RySS during the ‘Organic Kuppam’ program launch.These include several leading organic brands and companies such as National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL), Govt of India, Sresta (24 Mantra Organics), Phalada Agro (Pure & Sure Organic brand), BigBasket, Isha Foundation, National Center for Organic and Natural Farming (NCONF), Govt of India, International Competence Center for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA), Sahaja Aharam Organic and Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) and Association of Indian Organic Industry (AIOI)
