Indian Agriculture

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked farmers to leverage India's diverse climatic conditions and focus on scaling up the harvest of high-value crops to enable the country's agri products to effectively compete in global markets. Addressing a post-budget webinar on 'Agriculture and Rural Transformation', Modi said steps need to be taken to promote all aspects of "quality, branding and standards" of Indian agriculture produce. Agri experts, industry and farmers will have to come together to achieve this goal, he said. "Today the markets of the world are opening, and global demand is changing... It is necessary to have more discussion on making our agriculture export-oriented. We have a diverse climate, and we must take full advantage of it. We are rich in agro-climatic zones," he said in his third post-budget webinar. The Budget for 2026-27 has also focussed on high-value agriculture, including cashew, cocoa, sandalwood, Modi said, adding the National Mission on Edible Oil and

Chouhan said that, rather than compromising farmers' interests, the trade deal will open new avenues of opportunity for crops such as rice

The past decade has seen farmers slowly but steadily expand acreage under more lucrative fruits and vegetables, signalling a gradual diversification away from cereal crops

Plant protection industries say the draft Pesticides Management Bill risks fostering 'licence raj' and hampering research, citing sweeping inspector powers, price controls and unclear licensing terms

The government will prioritise green fuel-based farm machinery and enhance access to mechanisation for small and marginal farmers as part of India's vision to become a global food basket by 2047, Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi said on Thursday. Addressing the ninth edition of EIMA Agrimach event organised by FICCI here, Chaturvedi said mechanisation is crucial for achieving the four key objectives of increasing farmers' income -- reducing farming costs, boosting productivity, improving price realisation through value addition, and building climate resilience. "Over the next 5-10 years, we should shift our technologies towards green fuels -- whether electrically operated tractors or machines running on CBG (compressed biogas) available from rural CBG plants," he said. The agriculture secretary said this transition will bring down both maintenance and operational costs for farmers, and government schemes will increasingly prioritise green fuel-based technologies. He also cal

Things are in place for a good rabi harvest. But farmers must contend with poor prices for their kharif harvest. And that may have a knock-on effect on rabi prices in a vicious cycle

While talking about crop damage, Mallick said that groundnut crop has gone bad. The same was witnessed with the paddy crop in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh

CIMMYT chief Bram Govaerts says India can drive a second Green Revolution by investing in agricultural research and global partnerships as the farm sector faces new challenges

Govt working on three-pronged strategy to support exporters

The second phase is likely to match or exceed Phase 1's scale, with possible additions like agrovoltaics and minor guideline revisions

India is the second-largest consumer of fertilisers in the world, but lacks the natural resources to manufacture them

How C Subramaniam's political backing helped MS Swaminathan secure funds for hybrid seed trials, setting the stage for India's Green Revolution and agricultural self-reliance

The regional office will facilitate direct exports of fruits, vegetables, rice, GI-tagged products, millets, and other agri-commodities to international markets

Cooperative major IFFCO has appointed K J Patel as its new Managing Director (MD) with former chief U S Awasthi's term ending on Thursday. IFFCO Chairman Dileep Sanghani announced Patel as the new MD, the cooperative said in a statement. Patel, who was Director-Technical at IFFCO, holds a mechanical engineering degree from Saurashtra University and has a rich experience of more than 32 years in the maintenance of Nitrogenous & Phosphatic fertiliser plants. He was heading the IFFCO Paradeep Plant, the biggest complex fertiliser plant in India. "Patel brings deep industry knowledge and, proven strategic thinking approach that aligns with the goals of IFFCO," Sanghani said. Further, he said the board is confident that Patel will steer IFFCO into a new era of innovation and value creation. Sanghani also thanked the outgoing MD US Awasthi for his invaluable contribution and dedication to IFFCO as well as farmers across the country. IFFCO posted a 16 per cent increase in net profit to

Owing to deluge of cheap imports, the area under pulses is down

Google unveils open-source AI initiatives targeting India's agriculture and linguistic diversity, aiming to enhance farming productivity and cultural representation in AI models, boosting partnerships

Sailesh Mehta urges clearer subsidy mechanism, market-based urea pricing, and Direct Benefit Transfer to resolve imbalances and revive fertiliser sector investment

Genome editing is a relatively new technology, and we've had a breakthrough with the development of two novel varieties using this approach

With surplus foodgrain stocks and more wheat arriving, the Centre may allow states to lift and distribute three months' ration quota in advance to prevent a storage crunch

India has exported around 1.71 million tonnes of onions in FY24 while in FY25 (till March 18) around 1.16 million tonnes has already been exported