Scaling Natural Farming Globally: Pilot Case Study in Zambia

 

In a first step, this farmer-to-farmer innovation and implementation program brought a delegation from Zambia, including representatives of the Zambian Ministry of Agriculture, the Kasisi Agricultural Training Center (KATC), and the Luwingu Natural Farming, to Andhra Pradesh, India, for a two-week, hands-on learning program. 

In phase two, the Zambian farming delegation returned to Zambia, and with the support of APCNF’s and NOW’s experts, adapted the methodology to local conditions during the dry season when typically no farming occurs. In phase three, a combined team of NOW and APCNF farmer coaches will return for the normal growing season with the APCNF farmer-coaches staying for 3 - 4 months to support day-to-day implementation, adaptation and monitoring. This hands-on adaptation and innovation process will continue for several years until a growing number of Zambian farmers and farmer training centers across the country have made the approach their own and no longer need the support of APCNF and NOW.

In Andhra Pradesh, APCNF has already empowered 1 million farmers to significantly strengthen yields and farming incomes, food and water security, drought and flood resilience, biodiversity and the health of farmers and consumers while also reducing emissions and sequestering massive amounts of carbon because Natural Farming uses no chemical input. In a next step, APCNF is scaling to five million farmers by 2030. India’s Prime Minister Modi has declared Natural Farming to be a national priority and set an initial target of 10 million farmers across other states. This points the way to eventually reach the over 100 million India farmers who can greatly benefit from this method and enhance India’s food and water security, amongst other opportunities. 

Maliwe Penelope, Chief Coordinator of Agriculture Training Institutions at the Zambian Ministry of Agriculture, emphasized the scalability and impact of this approach: "This method can easily be scaled up because it shows results. A farmer wants money, a farmer wants nutrition, a farmer wants sustainability. Through these pilot projects farmers will be able to see for themselves, not just hear about it. They will be able to make comparisons between how they were doing it and the way it is supposed to be done, getting back to nature." Click here for more about the Zambia initiative.

"We brought Zambian farmers to India to learn from each other and exchange best practices. Together we can help them overcome language and cultural divides because fundamentally they understand and love nature," said Walter Link who founded NOW and co-created Natural Farming Global with APCNF leader Vijay Kumar. "The world needs us to act now. We started this program in April and in August Zambian farmers, supported by APCNF experts, put the first seeds into the ground in a period when usually there are no farming activities at all. And they are already succeeding. If we combine our resources, we can help millions of farmers to transition not only in India but across Africa, Asia and Latin America where we are initially focusing our efforts.”