Ashok Lahiri, S Mahendra Dev call for a shift in farming approach

NITI Aayog's Ashok Lahiri and EAC-PM Chairman S Mahendra Dev call for shifting agriculture towards value addition, rural non-farm jobs and higher farmer incomes

Ashok Lahiri, NITI Aayog vice-chairman, and S Mahendra Dev, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), on Thursday advocated a shift in approach for the agriculture sector to provide employment for rural people in non-farm areas.

 

They also called for correcting unbalanced fertiliser use and moving away from the recommended NPK (nitrogenous, phosphorus, and sodium) ratio while commending farmers for delivering globally one of the highest farm-sector growth rates in the last decade.

 

Lahiri and Dev were speaking at an event organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in New Delhi.

 

Lahiri said the time had come to look at farmers not just as food providers but as “businessmen”. He called for three strategic shifts to transform Indian agriculture: Moving raw produce to value-added products (for instance, from raw pineapple to sliced and tinned pineapple); shifting from fragmented farming to strong producer institutions; and transitioning from input-intensive agriculture to climate-smart and sustainable farming.

 

Dev suggested four paths to increase farmers’ income. They are diversification in the crop sector, focusing on post-harvest and marketing, food and agro-processing, and helping small and marginal farmers with input and output marketing.

 

Lahiri said: “We have come a long way from the days of food insecurity. In the 2025-26 crop year, India’s food grain production reached an all-time high of 376.5 million tonnes and India’s agri-exports exceeded $51 billion.”

 

Mahendra Dev in his address said that for the welfare of farmers, a shift from a production approach to an income-centric one was necessary.

 

“The Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) and Nabard (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) surveys show that farmers and rural households get substantial income from rural non-agriculture as well,” he said.

 

Lahiri said adopting artificial intelligence, drones, remote sensing, satellite imagery, internet of things and precision agriculture should enhance productivity, reduce costs and strengthen climate resilience, while Dev talked of a forum where the Union and state governments could build a consensus on common issues concerning the sector.

 

“A food-system approach spanning production, processing, distribution and consumption demands a cross-ministerial and centre-state convergence,” Dev said.