Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday visited a field where natural farming was being practised by a tenant farmer, Gudipalli Nagabhushanam, at Lingamguntla village in Palnadu district.

Mr. Nagabhushanam told the Chief Minister that he had been doing natural farming for the past four years. He said the shift to chemical-free cultivation reduced input costs, improved soil fertility and increased crop yield, making farming more profitable.

Mr. Naidu said the State government was promoting natural farming and creating awareness among the farmers about the harmful effects of excessive chemical use. He described farmers like Mr. Nagabhushanam as role models for sustainable agriculture.

The Chief Minister also inspected the farmer’s traditional oil extraction unit, where cold-pressed oils were produced from groundnut, sesame and coconut using conventional methods. Mr. Nagabhushanam said the unit had become an additional source of income, and requested the Chief Minister to use the products.

Mr. Naidu immediately called his wife Bhuvaneswari to seek her approval before purchasing a litre of cold-pressed groundnut oil.

Later, he visited a cow-based natural farming resource centre and reviewed the preparation of inputs such as ‘Jeevamrutham’, ‘Ghana Jeevamrutham’ and ‘Neemastram’ using locally available materials. He also inspected a papaya orchard and interacted with the farmer on the benefits of crop diversification in improving biodiversity, soil fertility, moisture retention and pest management.