Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy formally inaugurated the Indo German Global Academy for Agroecology, Research and Learning (IGGAARL) in Pulivendula constituency of Kadapa district on Thursday. The academy is a fallout of the joint effort between the Federal Government of Germany and the Government of India to strengthen the ongoing initiatives in the State and develop the science behind natural farming. The IGGAARL will encourage research through competitive grants, involving globally and nationally acclaimed research institutes and universities, besides working closely with the Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS), which drives the Andhra Pradesh Community-managed Natural Farming (APCNF). Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said the State was taking a slow, yet formidable step towards natural farming, as the centre would take up training programmes for farmers at the grassroots level. With knowledge transfer, the institute aimed at transforming 10,700 farmers into ‘farmer scientists’