Zambian team visits natural farming fields in Sri Sathya Sai dist

Puttaparthi (Sri Sathya Sai district): An eight-member delegation from Zambia visited natural farming fields in Sri Sathya Sai district on Monday to gain first-hand exposure to farmer-led agricultural practices, innovations and sustainable farming models being implemented in Andhra Pradesh.

The delegation is visiting the state from August 31 to September 3 under the South–South Cooperation Programme on Agroecological and Climate-Resilient Farming. The visit is supported by GIZ and coordinated by the Andhra Pradesh Mahila Abhivruddhi Society (APMAS), in collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh Community-managed Natural Farming Programme (APCNF) and the AF Ecology Centre (AFEC) for the Anantapur leg.

The delegation comprises Shadreck Mwale, Mukela Elizabeth Lubasi, Chizumba Shepande and Barbra Mukuni from Zambia’s ministry of agriculture, Etinala Tembo of Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Zambia, Ebony Lolozi of the National Union for Small-Scale Farmers of Zambia (NUSFAZ) and Belindah Chilala and Emmanuel Ngoma of GIZ.

The visit aims to help the delegation understand India’s experience in promoting agroecology and climate-resilient agriculture, with a focus on community-based approaches, institutional mechanisms, scientific evidence, extension systems, financing and partnerships needed to scale up sustainable farming practices.

The exposure to Andhra Pradesh’s natural farming model is expected to provide practical insights for Zambia as it works towards developing its first National Agroecology Strategy.

During the field programme, the delegation observed demonstrations on the nine universal principles of natural farming, including the preparation of Ghanajeevamrutham and Dravajeevamrutham. Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS) chief technology and innovation officer and district project manager Lakshma Naik explained the role of bio-stimulants in natural farming and their importance in improving soil health and crop growth.

The team later visited natural farming fields in Gantapuram village and other parts of the district. The delegates interacted with self-help group (SHG) and village organisation (VO) federations to understand diversified farming practices and strategies for generating continuous income for farming communities.

The field visits offered the delegation an opportunity to observe how farmers are adopting Natural Farming techniques across different crops and farming conditions.

RySS senior thematic lead Sudhakar, thematic lead Suresh, Swathi and other RySS and district-level staff participated in the programme. APMAS representatives Kalaimani and Ramadevi facilitated the field visit and interacted with the Zambian delegation.

The visit is part of a cross-country learning and knowledge-exchange programme aimed at sharing experiences on sustainable agriculture, soil health, water conservation and climate resilience. It also seeks to strengthen understanding of community-based extension systems and practical approaches to building climate-resilient agricultural livelihoods.

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The Hans India