Background
Natural farming in India is an ecological approach to agriculture that minimizes external inputs, promotes soil health and enhances crop resilience. It relies on principles such as using farm-based resources, fostering biodiversity and avoiding synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) program, implemented by the non-profit organization Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS) has led a large-scale adoption of natural farming, with over 800,000 farmers practicing it. Studies indicate that natural farming improves yields, increases farmer incomes and enhances resilience to climate extremes. While promising, further scientific research is needed to validate its long-term benefits and scalability, ensuring broader adoption and policy support for sustainable agriculture in India. Therefore, RySS approached PIK with a request to fill this gap.
Objectives and approach
As part of RENAT, a model-based study will be carried out, assessing the production potential and climate resilience of natural farming for priority crops in different agroecological zones in India. The modelling of natural farming practices will be undertaken in two steps: Firstly, through a calibration of the APSIM and DSSAT models to local farming practices and secondly, through a spatial extrapolation of these practices to the state of Andhra Pradesh and all of India. The project will be conducted with data from all of India for selected crops, with an emphasis on Andhra Pradesh and on natural farming approaches.
Project partners
The main partner in the project is RySS. Further partners are Dorsch Impact, the German development bank KfW and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee. While IIT Roorkee does not hold a formal role in the project, its longstanding collaboration with PIK presents valuable opportunities for knowledge exchange.
Duration: December 2024 - December 2026
Funding agency: Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) through Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS)
Contact: Prof. Dr. Christoph Gornott (gornott@pik-potsdam.de) and Julia Tomalka (tomalka@pik-potsdam.de).
