Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a nationwide push to transform Indian agriculture, focusing on productivity, farmer-led innovation, and modern technology. Highlighting India’s rise as the world’s fourth-largest economy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chouhan emphasized that a developed India needs a strong agriculture sector.
Drawing insights from the recent Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan, the government has launched a “Lab-to-Land” initiative to close the gap between research and real-world farming. Over 13.5 million farmers were consulted, revealing key concerns like poor seed quality, high costs, and labor shortages. In response, future research will prioritize farmer input, develop high-yield and disease-resistant varieties (like genome-edited soybean), and encourage mechanization.
Chouhan stressed promoting soymeal exports and value-added products like tofu and soy milk. The government will also hold crop-specific consultations across cities, cotton in Coimbatore, sugarcane in Meerut, and pulses in Kanpur, under the mantra One Nation – One Agriculture – One Team.