This transformation is the result of the hard work of our farmers, the dedication of our scientists, and the strength of our institutions. It is also a reflection of the visionary leadership of PM Modi, under whose guidance Indian agriculture has entered a new era of growth, innovation, inclusion, and resilience.
Over the last decade, agriculture has been placed at the center of India’s development agenda. The budget allocation for agriculture and allied sectors has increased nearly fivefold—from about Rs 27,662 crore before 2014 to more than Rs 1.40 lakh crore today. This unprecedented investment reflects the Government’s commitment to improving farmers’ welfare, strengthening agricultural infrastructure, promoting innovation, and making Indian agriculture globally competitive.
PM Modi’s vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas has guided a series of landmark reforms and initiatives. The launch of PM-KISAN has provided direct income support to more than 11 crore farmers and is the world’s largest Direct income support program. The National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) has transformed agricultural marketing by integrating 1656 mandis across the country and improving price discovery. The Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) is creating economies of scale for smallholders. Programmes such as PM Fasal Bima Yojana, PM Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, the Digital Agriculture Mission, National Mission on Natural Farming, and the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana have strengthened every segment of the agricultural value chain and strive to enhance the farmers income.
At the heart of this transformation stands the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), working in close partnership with State Agricultural Universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), farmer organizations, start-ups, and international partners. Together, they have built one of the world’s largest agricultural innovation ecosystems.
Today, India is the world’s largest producer of milk, pulses, and spices; the largest exporter of rice; and among the leading producers of wheat, cotton, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables, eggs, and fish. Our food security system supports nearly 800 million citizens, while our agricultural exports contribute to food and nutrition security across the world. India is no longer merely food secure, it is increasingly becoming a trusted provider of food, technology, and agricultural solutions to the Global South and beyond.
ICAR: India’s engine of agricultural transformation
One of the greatest strengths of Indian agriculture is its scientific ecosystem. Under the leadership of PM Modi, significant emphasis has been placed on strengthening research, innovation, and technology dissemination. The ICAR-led National Agricultural Research System today represents one of the largest agricultural research networks in the world and the most diverse in the world. The ICAR system includes 114 institutes, directorates, national research centres, bureaux and ATARIs, along with 163 regional stations. It works in partnership with four ICAR Deemed Universities, three Central Agricultural Universities, 69 State Agricultural Universities, four Central Universities with agriculture faculties, and 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendras that take science directly to farmers.
This network gives India a unique advantage. Few countries have to serve such a wide range of agroecologies Himalayan mountains, arid deserts, floodplains, coastal systems, rainfed drylands, irrigated plains, islands and peri-urban agriculture. ICAR’s strength lies in converting the agricultural diversity of India into scientific opportunity by developing solutions for many agricultural realities – irrigated and rainfed, smallholder and commercial, crop and livestock, inland and marine, traditional and high-tech.
During 2014-2025, ICAR developed and released 3,821 high-yielding varieties, including 3,103 climate-resilient and 205 biofortified varieties. These are not only yield-enhancing technologies; they are instruments of resilience, nutrition and national self-reliance. In the last five years alone, 1,847 field crop varieties were released and notified, including cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fibre crops, sugarcane, forages and millets. These varieties address key climate-related stresses such as drought, heat, flood, waterlogging, salinity and alkalinity, helping farmers sustain production under increasingly uncertain growing conditions.
This robust scientific development is already visible in national production. Foodgrain production in 2025-26 is estimated to be nearly 376.6 million tonnes, about 46% higher than 2014-15. Rice, wheat, maize and oilseeds touched record or near-record levels, with oilseed production reaching 43.1 million tonnes, an important step toward reducing import dependence.
From Green Revolution to gene editing
India’s agricultural science has now entered a new era. The Green Revolution gave India food security. The next revolution will be driven by precision breeding, genome editing, digital agriculture, climate-smart technologies and value-chain integration.
The world’s first two genome-edited rice varieties: DRR Dhan 100, also known as Kamala, and Pusa DST Rice 1 developed by ICAR offers early maturity and 20% yield margin and strong performance under inland salinity, alkalinity and coastal salinity stress, respectively. Further genome editing is also underway for 40 crops to strengthen climate resilience and food security while placing India among the countries shaping the future of crop improvement.
Building resilience in a changing climate
India’s agriculture is already reeling from high climate pressure. Nearly half of its farmland is rainfed, and farmers face heatwaves, erratic monsoons, droughts, floods, cyclones, salinity, soil degradation and emerging pests. Yet the country has maintained strong production growth because it has invested for decades in crop improvement, water management, seed systems, weather advisories, irrigation, soil conservation and climate-smart practices in the rural settings.
For instance, ICAR’s climate-resilient village models have been demonstrated in 448 villages, benefiting 8.5 lakh farmers across crops, livestock and fisheries. Integrated Farming Systems have been scaled to 1.04 lakh farm households in 79 districts, with annual farm incomes reported in the range of Rs 1.5-3.6 lakh per hectare.
These innovations have a sizable potential creating impact far beyond India. Many countries of the Global South face similar conditions, such as small farms, degraded soils, water stress, high climate risk, limited mechanization, pest outbreaks and nutrition challenges. India’s experience is therefore not merely domestic; it is globally relevant.
The Global South hub for agricultural solutions
Under the visionary leadership of PM Modi, India has emerged not only as a food secure nation but also as a trusted knowledge and technology partner for the Global South. Guided by the Prime Minister’s philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – One Earth, One Family, One Future,” India’s agricultural transformation is increasingly serving as a model for developing nations seeking sustainable, climate-resilient, and farmer-centric growth.
Today, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) stands at the forefront of this global engagement. ICAR has established 97 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), including 74 bilateral MoUs with 49 countries, of which 39 belong to the Global South. Through strategic platforms such as BRICS, G20, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, SAARC, and SCO, as well as collaborations with CGIAR centres, FAO, WFP, APAARI, CABI, the World Vegetable Center, USDA, and several international institutions, India is actively shaping the future of global agriculture through science, innovation, and cooperation.
PM Modi has consistently emphasized that India’s development journey must contribute to the progress of humanity as a whole. Reflecting this commitment, India has generously shared improved crop varieties, germplasm resources, and agricultural technologies across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other regions. More than 91,000 germplasm accessions have been supplied globally, including wheat germplasm shared with 61 countries and rice germplasm with 50 countries.
A defining milestone in this journey has been the global recognition of millets, championed by PM Modi. His persistent advocacy culminated in the declaration of 2023 as the International Year of Millets by the United Nations, placing India at the centre of a global movement towards nutritious, climate-resilient, and sustainable food systems. As PM Modi has stated, “Millets can become a medium for prosperity for small farmers and a solution for global nutrition and climate challenges.” Inspired by this vision, India is committed to ensuring that its agricultural innovations, scientific capabilities, and developmental experiences contribute meaningfully to the welfare of farmers and consumers across the Global South.
Animal health, dairy strength and One Health leadership
India’s White Revolution remains one of the world’s largest examples of smallholder-led agricultural transformation. Milk production increased from 146 million tonnes in 2014-15 to more than 230 million tonnes, supporting millions of smallholders and rural women. The next stage of livestock transformation is being driven by genomics, vaccines, disease surveillance, feed innovations and methane mitigation.
ICAR has developed indigenous vaccines and diagnostics for major livestock diseases, including Foot and Mouth Disease, Brucellosis, Peste des Petits Ruminants, Classical Swine Fever, Lumpy Skin Disease and Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza. Annual economic losses prevented or averted through disease control have been estimated at about Rs 22,000 crore for FMD, Rs 20,000 crore for LSD, Rs 4,683 crore for PPR and Rs 9,212 crore for Brucellosis. ICAR laboratories are also recognized internationally; ICAR-NIVEDI is recognized by WOAH for Leptospirosis and PPR, and ICAR-NIFMD by FAO as a global reference laboratory for FMD.
This is a major global strength. In a world increasingly concerned with zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, transboundary infections and food safety, India’s animal science system is emerging as a ‘One Health’ asset.
Fisheries, aquaculture and blue economy
India’s fisheries sector is another pillar of global agricultural leadership. ICAR has developed breeding and seed production technologies for 39 food fishes and improved aquaculture technologies for 49 finfish and shellfish species. Genetically improved rohu shows 55–60% higher growth, catla 30–35%, magur 20-25% and freshwater prawn 50-60%. More than 5.5 billion seeds of improved rohu and catla are produced annually and distributed across 18 states.
India has also developed open-sea cage culture, recirculating aquaculture systems, super-intensive shrimp farming, inland saline aquaculture, fish feeds, fish health products, nutraceuticals, value-added fish products and mobile advisory tools. More than 4,500 marine cages are already in operation, and inland saline shrimp farming has created new opportunities in states such as Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh.
With India already among the leading global exporters of marine products, these innovations strengthen the country’s blue economy, rural incomes and export competitiveness.
Future-ready workforce and science-of-delivery
India’s agricultural leadership is not only about technologies. It is also about people. ICAR and agricultural universities have produced 1.20 lakh agricultural graduates, 32,620 postgraduates and 22,770 Ph.D. scholars in the last 10 years. The system is producing scientists, extension professionals, entrepreneurs and skilled youth for India and for many regions of the Global South.
The 731 KVKs are one of the world’s largest last-mile agricultural extension systems. They conduct more than two lakh frontline demonstrations annually and build the capacity of nearly 16 lakh farmers and 1.2 lakh extension personnel every year. ICAR also operates multilingual digital advisory platforms reaching 2.75 crore farmers with support from more than 4,000 experts.
Under the future-ready agricultural education system, ICAR has aligned undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes with the National Education Policy and Sixth Deans’ Committee recommendations. Student READY, RAWE, vocational courses, digital learning, virtual classrooms, startup incubation, fellowships and international exposure are creating a new generation of agricultural professionals who can work across science, business, policy, digital systems and sustainability.
India’s promise to the world
India’s agricultural journey is not the story of a single revolution, crop, or institution—it is the story of science, innovation, and the resilience of millions of farmers. Under the visionary leadership of PM Modi, India has transformed from a food deficit nation into a global agricultural leader, progressing from food security to nutrition security, from conventional breeding to genome editing, and from production-centric agriculture to climate-resilient and sustainable farming systems.
As PM Modi has often stated, “The welfare of farmers is the foundation of a developed India,” and “Science and innovation must become instruments of prosperity for every farmer.” Guided by this vision, India today offers the world proven solutions for smallholders, climate adaptation, natural resource management, nutrition, livestock, and affordable agricultural technologies. For the Global South, India is a trusted partner that understands shared challenges. As we move towards Viksit Bharat 2047, India stands ready to contribute not only food, but knowledge, innovation, and hope for a more sustainable global agricultural future.
Having transformed its own food systems, India now stands ready to help shape a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable agricultural future for the world.
The author is Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development