When Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, agriculture and farmer welfare were placed at the heart of India’s development agenda. Since 2015, this commitment has translated into a broader transformation from improving production and farm incomes to building an agriculture sector that is productive, resilient, technology-driven, and sustainable. Adding Jai Anusandhan to Lal Bahadur Shastri’s call of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan and Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Jai Vigyan, the PM placed R&D at the heart of India’s farm future.

Green Revolution gave India food security. But agriculture cannot remain frozen in the priorities of the past. The aspirations of our farmers, consumption patterns of our citizens, and markets have all changed; and climate itself is changing. The transformation underway since 2015 is, therefore, significant. The years 1995-96 and 2014-15 have been marked as structural breakpoints because they mark distinct phases in the evolution of Indian agriculture. The first reflects the gradual impact of economic liberalisation, greater market integration, changing consumption patterns, and the slowdown in cereal productivity growth, while the second marks the emergence of a more diversified, technology-enabled and resilience- oriented agricultural system.

The last two years have witnessed an exceptional increase in food grain production. This reflects the combined impact of stronger Centre-state coordination, effective convergence of programmes, adoption of climate-resilient technologies, focused investments, and enhanced support to farmers. This growth draws strength not just from cereals but also from horticulture, dairy, fisheries, poultry, and other high-value........

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