Over a million Indian farmers moving to natural farming: APCNF wins the 2026 Food Planet Prize
STOCKHOLM, June 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) has been awarded the 2026 Food Planet Prize—the world’s largest environmental award—for its role in leading one of the most ambitious transitions to agroecology ever undertaken. The prize, worth $1.5m, was presented in Båstad, Sweden, on June 2.
The Curt Bergfors Foundation has announced Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) as the winner of the 2026 Food Planet Prize, the world’s largest environmental award. All other finalists—Conscious Kitchen (US), NoPalm Ingredients (NL), and Savanna Institute (US)—received $150,000 in recognition of their work.
WHAT APCNF DOES AND WHY IT MATTERS FOR FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION
Over the past ten years, 1.8 million farmers in southern India have joined what is now one of the world’s largest transitions to natural agriculture—and the numbers keep growing. Launched by the government of Andhra Pradesh, APCNF works through women’s collectives and a network of over 10,000 farmer trainers to help smallholders abandon synthetic inputs in favor of natural farming practices rooted in soil science and traditional knowledge. Year-round cover cropping and pre-monsoon dry sowing are among the methods being adopted across more than 8,000 villages.
WHAT THE PRIZE WILL UNLOCK
Winning the Prize will let APCNF go even further:
- More demonstration sites for visitors from India and beyond—to show the world what community-managed natural farming actually looks like;
- Country-by-country toolkits for large-scale, locally adapted implementation;
- New research partnerships to keep building the evidence base;
- A natural farming leadership course;
- More support for "farmer scientists"—smallholders trained at an academy to design and document their own field experiments, treating the farmers as legitimate leaders and the farms as sites of agricultural research.
In awarding the Food Planet Prize 2026 to APCNF, Professor Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, co-chair of the Food Planet Prize jury commented:
“APCNF demonstrates how nature-positive farming can be implemented across entire communities and regions, providing a scalable pathway for millions of farmers while simultaneously improving livelihoods, resilience, and environmental outcomes.
While transforming the way food is produced, APCNF has realized measurable reductions in dependence on synthetic agricultural inputs and enhanced resilience to climate shocks, droughts, and economic volatility. Essentially, APCNF shows how the future of agriculture can be built by working with nature rather than against it.”
Said Vijay Kumar Thallam, APCNF Executive Vice Chairman:
“APCNF is honored to receive the 2026 Food Planet Prize on behalf of 1.8 million farm families, 700,000 farmworker families, and the 340,000 women's self-help groups driving this transformation. We accept this Award for farmers across India who are showing the world a climate-resilient, nature-positive pathway, and we thank the scientists. A special thanks to Honorable Chief Minister Sri Nara Chandrababu Naidu whose vision made it possible. This recognition strengthens our resolve to scale natural farming to all 6 million farmers of Andhra Pradesh”.
ABOUT THE FOOD PLANET PRIZE
The Food Planet Prize is presented by the Curt Bergfors Foundation and is the world’s largest environmental award. It recognizes initiatives with the potential to drive large-scale transformation of the global food system, reducing its environmental impact.
For press inquiries, contact:
Anya Gerzhan, Communications Manager: press@foodplanetprize.org | +46 73 360 71 93
For APCNF, please contact: commsteam@ryss.ap.gov.in
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aedfdf55-3f9c-4dd3-ae82-a668895b1a79
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/52ce6095-180b-4f31-b8f1-3910707c1ecf
A video accompanying this announcement is available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/16c332f4-a1bf-4b3f-a971-199d4a5ca694
APCNF Food Planet Prize Winner 2026 - Tirupati Farmer
“At a time when farming communities are facing mounting climate and livelihood challenges, the APCNF programme equipped us with the knowledge and skills to transition to natural farming and produce good results.It is a matter of great pride that APCNF has received recognition through the Food Planet Prize 2026.” (D. Chamundeshwari, Vemuru Village, Tirupati Rural Mandal, Tirupati District)
Food Planet Prize Winners 2026 with Jury Co-Chairs_Photo Erik Olsson
Food Planet Prize Winners 2026, represented by APCNF Executive Vice Chairman Vijay Kumar Thallam and Rajsekhar Budithi, Special Chief Secretary to Government of Andhra Pradesh, Agriculture & Allied Departments; with the Food Planet Prize jury co-chairs, Magnus Nilsson (right), Chef, organic apple farmer and Director-General of the Curt Bergfors Foundation; and Lindiwe Majele Sibanda (left), Extra-Ordinary Professor, University of Pretoria.
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