The Rockefeller Foundation declared Naandi Foundation, a Hyderabad-based non-profit organisation, as one of the ‘Top 10 Visionaries’ in the world for the Food Vision 2050 Prize, in New York on August 6, 2020. Naandi foundation will be awarded a prize money of $200,000—USD 1,50,000 at present and the balance USD 50,000 after a three-month accelerator programme in an effort to help Naandi accomplish its vision. Naandi competed with over 1,300 entries in a two-level contest over a one-year period.
The US-based Rockefeller Foundation launched the Food System Vision Prize in partnership with SecondMuse and OpenIDEO in 2019 with the purpose to motivate organisations the world over to develop a vision of a regenerative and nourishing food system by the year 2050.
Food System Vision is a programme that addresses the following six interconnected themes: Environment, Diets, Economics, Culture, Technology, and Policy. It is believed that by transforming food systems, the following challenges can be addressed:
* A global population approaching 10 billion
* Greenhouse gasses changing the climate
* Pollution poisoning soil, air, and water
Under the programme, prize money of USD 2 million would be distributed to the top visionaries, who would then be eligible to receive a prize of USD 2,00,000 each.
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Naandi was recognised for its Arakunomics model, a new integrated economic model that ensures profits for farmers and quality for consumers through regenerative agriculture. Naandi aims to create thousands of farm livelihoods by transforming their agriculture over one million acres spread across India.
This economic model is a tribute to the tribal farmers of Araku region for the world-class coffee produced and launched in Paris in 2017, as well as for the high carbon landscape transformation they achieved in over 955 villages by planting 25 million trees.
The Arakunomics model was applied in regions of Araku (Andhra Pradesh), Wardha (Maharashtra), and New Delhi, leading to the Food Vision 2050 that pursues an ‘ABCDEFGH’ framework focusing on: Agriculture, Biology, Compost, Decentralised decision-making, Entrepreneurs, Families, Global Markets, and ‘Headstands (implying innovation)’.
Regenerative Agriculture
As the name indicates, regenerative agriculture addresses problems such as loss of the world’s fertile soil and biodiversity, along with the loss of indigenous seeds and knowledge by utilising technologies that regenerate and revitalise the soil and the environment.
It is a method of farming and grazing practices that reverses climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity, thereby resulting in carbon drawdown and an improved water cycle. This results in healthy soil, capable of producing high-quality, nutrient-dense food, ultimately leading to productive farms and healthy communities and economies.
It incorporates permaculture (sustainable and self-sufficient agricultural ecosystems) and organic farming practices, including conservation tillage, cover crops, crop rotation, composting, mobile animal shelters, and pasture cropping which increase food production, farmers’ income, and topsoil.
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