Coimbatore Farmer V T Valluvan Earns UN Recognition for Natural Farming Model

A farmer and civil engineer from Vadavalli has recently been recognized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as a 'soil health guardian' for his natural farming and agroforestry model. V T Valluvan received the global honor for his work on his 36-acre farm at Vettaikaranpudur near Pollachi in Coimbatore, where he demonstrated how natural farming can restore degraded soils, build climate resilience, and ensure profitable farming without the use of chemicals.

Through his sustainable agricultural practices, Valluvan successfully raised the soil organic carbon on his land from a low 0.5% to an impressive 3.4%. His methods also significantly cut down on water usage and turned what was once an unprofitable coconut plantation into a flourishing, highly biodiverse, and profitable food forest.

His successful farming model has also been documented globally on the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) platform as an example of a successful farmer-led ecological transformation.

According to Valluvan, safeguarding the land is a fundamental responsibility for those in agriculture. "Protecting soil is the duty of every farmer," he said. "The natural farming system I follow is part of Tamil Nadu’s traditional agricultural wisdom."

Valluvan, who also runs a construction firm, initially began coconut farming on the land in 2006. However, he chose to switch to a different agricultural model due to poor financial returns. At the time, a coconut tree on the property used to yield only 110 nuts, which prompted him to seek a more sustainable alternative.

Today, in a region widely known for its standard coconut plantations, Valluvan’s 36-acre farm stands out significantly. Instead of conventional rows of coconut trees, his land has been transformed to resemble a dense food forest. Under his multi-layered agroforestry model, timber trees, spices, fruits, and various other intercrops now grow together on the land.